DOE`s Energy Optimization Program supports license renewal
- Dept. of Energy, Germantown (United States)
- Jupiter Corp. (United States)
While industry is primarily responsible for reducing costs and maintaining operational safety, the Federal government has a strategic national interest in continued operation of the existing NPPs. This view was supported by the President`s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) Panel on Federal Energy Research and Development (R and D) last year. In its November 1997 report the PCAST panel determined the role of nuclear power in meeting global greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals as crucial and made specific recommendations for nuclear energy R and D that the US Department of Energy (DOE) should undertake. As part of these recommendations, PCAST asked that DOE work with the national laboratories, universities, and industry to address the critical issues that may prevent the continued operation of existing NPPs. DOE`s Strategic Plan, issued in September 1997, also specifies that the US maintain its nuclear energy option and improve the efficiency of existing plants as part of its energy portfolio, in the interest of national security. DOE has proposed two new nuclear energy R and D programs for fiscal year 1999: the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (a peer-reviewed, competitively selected R and D program to preserve the future use of nuclear energy) and the Nuclear Energy Plant Optimization Program (NEPO). The goal of NEPO is to ensure that current NPPs can continue to deliver adequate and affordable energy supplies up to and beyond their initial 40-yr license period by resolving open issues related to aging mechanisms, by applying new technologies to improve the cost-effectiveness and predictability of the life-cycle management process, and by providing a strong technical basis for long-term operation via stable and efficient license renewal programs.
- OSTI ID:
- 298322
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-981106-; ISSN 0003-018X; TRN: 99:001953
- Journal Information:
- Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, Vol. 79; Conference: American Nuclear Society winter meeting, Washington, DC (United States), 15-19 Nov 1998; Other Information: PBD: 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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