Energy Department Announces Small Modular Reactor Technology Partnerships at Savannah River Site

[FBaggins]

The U.S. Energy Department and its Savannah River Site (SRS) announced today three public-private partnerships to develop deployment plans for small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) technologies at SRS facilities, near Aiken, South Carolina. As part of the Energy Department’s commitment to advancing the next generation of nuclear reactor technologies and breaking down the technical and economic barriers to deployment, these Memorandums of Agreement (MOA) will help leverage Savannah River’s land assets, energy facilities and nuclear expertise to support potential private sector development, testing and licensing of prototype SMR technologies.

The Energy Department, Savannah River Site and Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) have entered into three separate agreements with Hyperion Power Generation Inc.; SMR, LLC, a subsidiary of Holtec International; and NuScale Power, LLC. The agreements will help these private companies obtain information on potential SMR reactor siting at Savannah River and provide a framework for developing land use and site services agreements to further these efforts.

“The Obama Administration continues to believe that low-carbon nuclear energy has an important role to play in America’s energy future,” said Secretary Chu. “We are committed to restarting the nation’s nuclear industry and advancing the next generation of these technologies, helping to create new jobs and export opportunities for American workers and businesses.”

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Promoting a sustainable nuclear industry in the U.S. also requires cultivating the next generation of scientists and engineers. Over the past three years, the Department has invested $170 million in research grants at more than 70 universities, supporting R&D into a full spectrum of technologies, from advanced reactor concepts to enhanced safety design.

http://energy.gov/articles/energy-department-announces-small-modular-reactor-technology-partnerships-savannah-river

[izquierdista]

1. How about sustaining a 40 year old idea?

Like building them underground, so that they can be abandoned in place at the end of their useful life or when something goes wrong:

http://books.google.com/books?id=LQsAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA38&lpg=PA38&dq=rodgers+bulletin+atomic+underground+nuclear&source=bl&ots=Xx19qGK8Bb&sig=xfx4FgMfj5C2EYQBt_1Hx6RZAbw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ggdVT-vdFMiC0QGe4oT1DQ&ved=0CCQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=rodgers%20bulletin%20atomic%20underground%20nuclear&f=false

[FBaggins]

2. At least one of the designs comes close.

Though "abandoned in place" is probably not the way to go, you could certainly leave them there for decades until the only waste that remained was comparatively low-level.

Such a design also benefits from much simpler safety features (and thus reduced cost for same).