3 ms·
New reactor designs have a serious approval burden via the NRC. Almost all of the reactor designs that are in operation are plants that were designed pre-1970.
by omgJustTest 3y ago
New reactor designs have a serious approval burden via the NRC. Almost all of the reactor designs that are in operation are plants that were designed pre-1970.
After the Atomic Energy Commission was disbanded the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was formed. The NRC has had an ultra-conservative policy against new technologies, creating a chicken-and-egg-problem for new tech: a tech must be proven in a relevant nuclear environment before it can be approved by the NRC, but it cannot be proven without installing it in a relevant environment unless it is already in a grandfathered reactor design.
Additionally while there are a lot of interesting ideas, simulations and paper-reactors, "approved" real reactors face large capital costs (~$5bn / 1 GWe) as well as long build times (~10-20years). The real crux of this problem is that the utility cannot get guarantees that when it builds a reactor that it will be allowed to operate it. At the end of a build, there is a licensure process that must pass a community comment period. The political landscape 10-20years in a community's future can change dramatically, leaving a utility with a huge gamble that can result in brand-new nuclear-reactors, which are blessed by the NRC, to be shuttered.
- dr_kiszonka 3y agoThanks for sharing your expertise! The first Google snippet had me think you can build a nuclear powerplant in six years, but you are right [1,2]. Why does it take so long, say, 15 years? Is it simply the difficulty? Supply chain issues? Regulation? Changes in the political climate?Something else? 1. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1333678/nuclear-plants-construction-time/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/1333678/nuclear-plants-c... 2. https://www.world-nuclear.org/gallery/world-nuclear-performance-report-gallery/median-construction-times-for-reactors-since-1981.aspx https://www.world-nuclear.org/gallery/world-nuclear-performa...
- omgJustTest 3y agoThe timeline is unique to the US and the NRC. China can and has recently constructed plants in very short build timelines (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ningde_Nuclear_Power_Plant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ningde_Nuclear_Power_Plant, for example has had many installations over not that much time). Vogtle-3 and 4 are the first nuclear reactors to come into commercial market in like 20-30 years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vogtle_Electric_Generating_Plant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vogtle_Electric_Generating_Pla..., permits started in 2008 and finally operation will happen this year. Westinghouse, the designer, went bankrupt in 2017 and the utility was given at least $12bn in _federal_ loan guarantees to help the reactors be completed. These two units cost $15bn each. A lot of operators blame construction timelines on community comment periods, though I suspect that like every other large capital investment in the US, the timelines are extended by mistakes, regulatory oversight / indecisiveness and some misaligned incentives of the government, construction companies and utilities.