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From page 31... ... As part of DOE's cooperative agreements with EPRI and NEI focused on resolving generic new plant licensing issues, DOE supported an ITAAC demonstration project. This activity was divided into two main parts: (1) Read the entire page →
From page 32... ... In comparison with the 25 year absence of business associated with new nuclear plants, many companies have not maintained the quality programs required for the N stamp certification of authorization. This certification confirms that the American Society for Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Read the entire page →
From page 33... ... DOE's current support of university research and educational infrastructure must continue. 16 ASME Code Section III, Division 1, Nuclear Power Plant Components, requiring compliance with ASME QAI-1, Qualifications and Duties for Authorized Nuclear Inspection. Read the entire page →
From page 34... ... Oversight Methods and Metrics DOE reports on the methods and metrics it uses for oversight of its projects to ensure progress and accountability, including semiannual project reviews, periodic progress report and schedule evaluations, invoice review, as well as participation in periodic project meetings and conference calls. DOE has negotiated individual interface and oversight agreements with NuStart and Dominion to define the practices to be implemented on the COL demonstration projects. Read the entire page →
From page 35... ... Energy Policy Act 2005: Provisions for New Nuclear Plants Loan Guarantee Title XVII of EPACT05 conferred broad authority on DOE to provide loan guarantees to projects that reduce, avoid, or sequester emissions of air pollution or 19 See http://www.rggi.org/agreement.html. Read the entire page →
From page 36... ... , reduce uncertainty and reduce the cost of obtaining capital for sponsors of new nuclear plants. The Loan Guarantee Office has yet to announce how it will administer the first loan guarantee, but it has said that additional requests for solicitations are forthcoming. Read the entire page →
From page 37... ... The cooperative agreement allows industry to convey its request for projects it deems will address the technical, regulatory, and institutional challenges to new nuclear plant deployment. There is a strong focus on demonstrating the regulatory processes, finalizing and standardizing the designs, and implementing the EPACT05 standby support provisions, all of which are essential front-end activities. Read the entire page →
From page 38... ... The objectives of the licensing demonstration projects come from recommendations in the near-term deployment roadmap that action be taken to "resolve the uncertainties regarding the new plant regulatory approval process through actual use, and secure regulatory approval for several reactor designs and siting applications on a time scale that will support plant deployments in this decade." (NERAC, 2001, p.44) In discussing the gaps that need to be closed to achieve this goal, the roadmap identified "key dimensions and solution objectives," including three that require essentially complete resolution to achieve near-term deployment and which are strongly endorsed by the committee: 1. Read the entire page →
From page 39... ... This, in turn, will be an important bellwether of the industry's willingness to pursue a new generation of nuclear plants. Recognizing that substantial effort and funding are currently being devoted to preparation of COL applications for submission to the USNRC in CY2007, aggressive attention should be paid by DOE and the consortia to ensuring that the COL applications are complete and of high quality and that they will be evaluated in an efficient and timely manner. Read the entire page →
From page 40... ... While standardization of the COL application is stressed for each reactor design, it is not clear that the COLs would be standardized among the families of designs on common safety and licensing issues. This seeming lack of focus on standardization among different families of reactors is a concern. Read the entire page →
From page 41... ... Moreover, these modules will be provided by a supply chain with plants in many countries. Clearly, inspection, testing and analysis of this many 26 ASME Code Section III, Division 1, Nuclear Power Plant Components, requiring compliance with ASME QAI-1, Qualifications and Duties for Authorized Nuclear Inspection. Read the entire page →
From page 42... ... Examples are the use of advanced multidimensional CAD-CAM methodologies for planning and monitoring construction and component installation, application of advanced digital information systems to monitor and assess construction quality assurance and plant status, provision of a complete, constructioninteractive database to assist the ITAAC process, planning for the pre-operational testing necessary for a smooth transition from construction completion to pre-operational systems testing, and preparation of operating instructions and employment of simulators for operator training. NSSS vendors and EPC contractors should complete the plant design (including the routing of small bore piping, tubing, and conduit to the maximum amount practical) Read the entire page →
From page 43... ... 4. "Nuclear power plant operators should recruit and train health physicists, operators, and maintenance technicians at their existing nuclear plants to serve as replacements at their existing plants and to staff the new GEN III+ plants. Read the entire page →
From page 44... ... The Most Meritorious Elements of NP 2010 The beneficial elements of NP 2010 are as follows: • The focus on licensing demonstrations, including joint planning with USNRC, • Commitment to standardization, • DOE-industry partnership through cooperative agreements , which offer ⎯ DOE program management and authority, ⎯ Industry experience in design, operations, costing, and the marketplace, ⎯ Provisions for completing plant design so that realistic plant cost and construction time estimates can be made. Read the entire page →
From page 45... ... Loan guarantees and production tax credits are essential for increasing the availability of capital at a much reduced cost for the first six new plants. Risk insurance protects companies from the financial losses caused by unexpected regulatory or litigation delays. Read the entire page →
From page 46... ... NE has been sponsoring a small amount of additional R&D, cost-shared with industry, to improve the performance, operating cost, and long-term operational reliability of existing nuclear plants under DOE's Nuclear Energy Plant Optimization (NEPO) program. Read the entire page →

From page 31...

... As part of DOE's cooperative agreements with EPRI and NEI focused on resolving generic new plant licensing issues, DOE supported an ITAAC demonstration project. This activity was divided into two main parts: (1)