Transcript Document

Energy Security:
The Role for Nuclear Energy
Jor-Shan Choi
Professor, G-COE Project
Nuclear Engineering & Management Department
Tokyo University, Japan
81-3-5841-2954
Choi@lnuclear .jp
4th Meeting of the CSCAP Study Group on Energy Security
Empire Hotel, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
July 8-9, 2008
Presentation Outline
• Current Status
• Why nuclear and why now?
• Key Issues for nuclear power development
• Toward a New Nuclear Regime
• A New Vision
Nuclear Capacity (2008) in the World*
104 in
the US
59 in
France

439 nuclear power plants

3 countries hold ½ of operating plants - US (104)
France (59), and Japan (55)

5 nuclear weapons countries also account for
>50% of all operating plants
* Taken from Power Reactor Information system, IAEA
55 in
JAPAN
Why Nuclear and Why Now
1) Oil and gas price surge
2) Environmental concerns
Carbon concentration
Temperatures
Why nuclear and why now
3) Energy Security
4) Increased Living Standard
Oil and gas supply disruptions
Infrastructural security
Shipping chokepoints
Why Nuclear and Why Now
 Nuclear energy, relative to fossil fuels, contributes little to greenhouse gas
emissions
 Relative to oil and gas, the ability to stockpile uranium offers greater assurance of
weathering potential cutoffs
 Nuclear energy is a proven technology which can provide a large scale electricity
generation base for lifting the standard of living in many countries without emitting
green house gases and further damaging the global environment
 Nuclear energy can also help offset transportation emissions now by supporting
hybrid cars, and in the future, through the production of hydrogen
Uranium Spot Prices
2007 - 2008
Generations of Nuclear Energy
Generation III+
Generation III
Generation I
Early
Prototypes
- Shippingport
- Dresden
- Magnox
1950
1960
Gen I
Generation II
Generation IV
Revolutionary
Designs
Evolutionary
Designs
Advanced LWRs
Commercial
Power
- CANDU 6
- System 80+
- AP600
- PWRs
- BWRs
- CANDU
1970
1980
Gen II
1990
2000
Gen III
- ABWR
- ACR1000
- AP1000
- APWR
- EPR
- ESBWR
2010
2020
Gen III+
- Safe
- Sustainable
- Economical
- Proliferation
Resistant
and
Physically
Secure
2030
Gen IV
http://www.gen-4.org/Technology/evolution.htm
Courtesy of M. Senzaki of JAEA
Design Improvement and High Availability
Standardized design and
Cumulative operation
experience
Higher
Availability
Factor
Passive Safety Systems
Eliminate Components
Simplify Safety Systems
Reduce Building Volumes
Reduce Costs
Key Issues for Nuclear Energy Development
 Costs/Financing
 Nuclear safety and security
 Human resource and infrastructural development
 Spent fuel and waste management
 Nuclear non-proliferation
Costs and Financing - “It’s the economics”
In the past few decades, nuclear power has proven
to be poor investments, producing far more
expensive electricity than originally promised

Nuclear generators are
expensive to build, but their fuel
costs are low

Combined-cycle gas plants are
far less expensive to build, but
their fuel costs are much higher

Intermittent technologies like
wind and solar produce less
power over time

With the inclusion of CO2
charges (i.e., carbon tax), the
nuclear plant will cost less than
combined-cycle gas plant and
coal plant in the US*
• In the US, the Advanced Energy Initiative of 2006 offered financial incentive
for new plant construction that employs new reactors and technologies
• New financial arrangement needed for Asian Pacific region
* US Congressional Research Council Study, 2007
Nuclear Safety and Security


Since TMI and Chernobyl, the global nuclear power
generation has maintain good safety record through stringent
regulation, automated and redundant safety systems, and the
industry’s commitment to comprehensive safety procedures
Since 11 September 2001, the nuclear industry has
substantially enhanced security at nuclear plants requiring
extensive security measures in place to protect the facility
from intruders

Can these accidents happen again?

How can a good safety culture be in-forced world-wide?
Human Resource Development
Tokyo University: Global COE Program
Funding to Nuclear Engineering Programs
in Universities Has Increased
Infrastructural Development
New nuclear infrastructure is highly optimized
1978: Plastic models on roll-around carts
McGuire Nuclear Station Reactor Building Models.
2007: 4-D computer aided design
and virtual walk-through
GT-MHR
Operating in a mature industry, the consortia work with their
supply chains for major equipment to support the near-term
deployment of Gen-III and Gen-III+ reactors
The Crucial Role of Waste Management
 Provide a safe and secure disposition for Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF)
and Radioactive Wastes (HLW)
 Regional/international solutions driven by security considerations
USDOE submitted a license application to USNRC on 3 June
2008 for Yucca Mountain as the US SNF and HLW repository
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
Yucca Mountain
Repositories and storage become
instruments of security, more than utility
dumping grounds
Nuclear Non-Proliferation:
 IAEA safeguards (Pre-NPT, CSA, AP)
 To stop “Onward Proliferation”, i.e., spread of sensitive
technologies (enrichment & reprocessing, E&R), and to
prevent nuclear weapons-materials-capability to fall onto
wrong hands, new proposals were made by:
- M. El Baradei, DG, IAEA – limit E&R to international controls
- G. W. Bush, US President – limit E&R to existing full-scale facilities
- V. Putin, RF President – International Uranium Enrichment Center
- Others
“Business as usual” is no longer an acceptable option.
A new nuclear regime is needed to deal with the
non-proliferation and environmental risks
Forming a global network of nuclear fuel cycle facilities*
Reducing non-proliferation and waste burden
Natural U
Spent Fuel Storage
PWR
Spent fuel
Spent fuel
Conversion
U
Fuel
reprocessing
Enrichment
Depleted U
LEU fuel
Fabrication
Spent fuel
fissile
material
s
U fuel
Fabrication
HLW
Pu
TRU
DUPIC fuel
Fabrication
MOX fuel
Fabrication
Repository
Repro. U
Fast Rx fuel
Fabrication
Fresh fuel transport
Member
Country 1
Member
Country 2
Member
Country 3
Member
Country 4
….
Spent fuel transport
• J. S. Choi, “An innovative fuel cycle concept with nonproliferation and waste considerations for small and medium sized reactors,”
International Seminar on Status and Prospects for Small and Medium Sized Reactors, Cairo Egypt, May 27-31, 2001
A Global Network of Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facilities
• Is not necessarily a regional nuclear fuel cycle center
• Does not need to be within a national boundary
• Could be formed by framework of contractual agreements among companies
and supported by their respective countries,
• Is intended to provide a cradle-to-grave fuel cycle services to countries
generating electricity for their citizen,
• Nuclear fuel cycle facilities in the network must comply with international
safety standards and safeguards requirements
• Countries can benefit from nuclear energy without the burdens of nonproliferation and waste management, much like a country can provide air
transportation to its citizens by operating airlines without the large investment
in aircraft manufacturing
Most fuel-cycle services are provided today except for
long-term spent fuel storage and repository disposal.
Regioanl/multilateral cooperation is needed for the network
A New Vision
 Countries have access to nuclear power at market prices
 Nuclear fuel supplies are assured at competitive prices
 Spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is returned* to appropriate
countries for management and disposal
 Spread of sensitive fuel cycle technologies
(Enrichment/reprocessing) reduced or eliminated
* • The former USSR took spent fuel back from other countries
• Russia currently takes spent fuel back from CIS countries
• The US takes research reactor spent fuel from other countries
• Can the Nuclear Weapons Countries do more?
• Can the Uranium Producing Countries do more?