· The U.S. nuclear industry and USNRC should strengthen their capabilities for assessing risks from events that could challenge
the design of nuclear plant structures and components and lead to a loss of critical safety functions.
Not exact matches
Darin Kingston
of d.light, whose profitable solar - powered LED lanterns simultaneously address poverty, education, air pollution / toxic fumes / health risks, energy savings, carbon footprint, and more Janine Benyus, biomimicry pioneer who finds models in the natural world for everything from extracting water from fog (as a desert beetle does) to construction materials (spider silk) to
designing flood - resistant buildings by studying anthills in India's monsoon climate, and shows what's possible when you invite the planet to join your
design thinking team Dean Cycon, whose coffee company has not only exclusively sold organic fairly traded gourmet coffee and cocoa beans since its founding in 1993, but has funded dozens
of village - led community development projects in the lands where he sources his beans John Kremer, whose concept
of exponential growth through «biological marketing,» just as a single kernel
of corn grows into a
plant bearing thousands
of new kernels, could completely change your business strategy Amory Lovins
of the Rocky Mountain Institute, who built a near - net - zero - energy luxury home back in 1983, and has developed a scientific, economically viable plan to get the entire economy off oil, coal, and
nuclear and onto renewables — while keeping and even improving our high standard
of living
Entergy is objecting to the Cuomo administration's investigation
of the Indian Point
nuclear facility, saying it could violate federal law and amounts to a political witch hunt
designed to make Westchester
plant look unsafe.
Westinghouse said in a statement Friday that it was «confident in the AP1000
design and its passive safety features, as it is one
of the most studied, reviewed and analyzed
nuclear power
plant designs in the history
of the commercial
nuclear power industry.»
Our national energy policy should also support the standardization
of nuclear power
plant design, an idea that Energy Secretary Steven Chu has recently endorsed (see «Micro Nukes,» page 38).
The competing SFR
design banks on a novel fission concept: bombarding uranium atoms with neutrons
of much higher energy than those used in a traditional
nuclear plant.
The inspector general's office, they assert, has shied away from challenging the NRC at exactly the wrong time, with many
of the country's 104
nuclear power
plants aging beyond their 40 - year
design life and with reactor meltdowns at Fukushima rewriting the definition
of a catastrophic accident.
Some
of the new
nuclear science research programs, including the one at MIT, are studying new reactor
designs and fuel cycles that scientists (and policy - makers) hope will make
nuclear plants safer and cheaper to operate, and produce waste materials with smaller volume, shorter half - lives, and less appeal to terrorists and other would - be
nuclear powers.
This week, EDF Energy took offline three
of its
nuclear reactors at its Heysham 1 and Hartlepool
plants in Britain for inspection which are both 31 years old, after a crack was discovered on a boiler spine
of another Heysham 1 reactor with a similar boiler
design, which had already been taken offline in June.
Leaks, burst cooling pipes, faulty controls, misplaced fuel rods and engineers» warnings about
design flaws have done little to slow down approvals for continued operation
of the nation's aging
nuclear plants
Abagyan told New Scientist that Russia will let its 12 first - generation
nuclear plants run for their «
design lives»
of thirty years.
Technical obstacles to building new
nuclear plants include addressing licensing,
design certification and first -
of - a kind engineering.
Although regulations for the
design of new
nuclear power
plants include safety features intended to avoid disasters,
nuclear power will always be vulnerable to those highly unlikely occurrences that have big repercussions.
In contrast, a conventional
nuclear plant requires several years
of customized
design and construction, and at the end
of its life several years more are needed to dismantle it and decontaminate the massive site around it.
The cutting - edge, 1,600 - megawatt
nuclear power
plant, Olkiluoto 3, which its French maker Areva boasted as the most advanced safety
design of the time, is still under construction today.
The knowledge gained from such research could inform the
design, selection, and improvement
of adsorbent materials and membranes for capturing gases such as radioactive krypton and xenon generated by
nuclear power
plants.
All
nuclear power
plants are
designed to withstand a certain level
of flooding based on historical data, but these figures do not take climate change into account.
The government, said Major, welcomes steps by Central and Eastern European countries to adopt energy strategies which will help them to press ahead with early closure
of the older, higher - risk Soviet -
designed nuclear power
plants like those at Bohunice.
As a result, the
Nuclear Installations Inspectorate also asked the company to assess the integrity
of the pressure vessels in the other four Magnox
plants, even though Trawsfynydd's vessels receive higher neutron doses than the other reactors because
of differences in
design.
In a similar vein, he made vague but conciliatory comments about trying to find a way forward on two other long - standing
nuclear waste issues: the cleanup
of Cold War — related waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state, and the stalled construction
of a
plant in South Carolina
designed to turn some 68 tons
of plutonium scavenged from U.S. and Russian
nuclear weapons into so - called mixed oxide fuel (MOX).
A second transformative
design innovation leverages gravity combined with conduction heat transfer ̶ two unfailingly reliable phenomena in nature — to facilitate all necessary heat removal from the
plant's
nuclear fuel, and subsequent expulsion
of heat to the atmosphere.
Researchers from California State University, Long Beach and Berkeley Lab have launched «Kelp Watch 2014,» a scientific campaign
designed to determine the extent
of radioactive contamination
of the state's kelp forest from Japan's damaged Fukushima
nuclear power
plant following the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami.
A total
of eight GNF3 lead - use assemblies have already been loaded into two
nuclear plants - four each at Entergy's River Bend and Exelon's LaSalle - and are operating as
designed, according to GNF.
In
designing the NuScale Power ModuleTM and power
plant, NuScale has achieved a paradigm shift in the level
of safety
of a
nuclear power
plant facility.
NAC is well positioned to not only support the storage initiative, but also to support the shipments
of the used fuel from
nuclear plant sites with its dual purpose solution
design, transportation cask availability, and transportation experience.
Mr. Fertel has almost 50 years
of experience working with the electric utility industry on issues related to
designing, siting, licensing and managing both fossil and
nuclear plants.
Scott Burnell, public affairs officer at the NRC, said NuScale's application is the first to propose a
nuclear power
plant designed with several small reactors instead
of one large one.
Rolls - Royce is strongly placed to deliver the
design and, together with a consortium
of UK companies, the supply
of almost all aspects
of a new
nuclear SMR
plant, re-establishing the UK supply chain to a position
of global recognition.
Response: Unlike currently operating
nuclear reactors, SMR - 160 has been
designed to store the used fuel produced over the entire operating lifetime
of the
plant in subterranean cavities (formally known as Holtec's HI - STORM UMAX system licensed by the USNRC), occupying a small parcel
of land in the
plant's backyard.
The Canadian
Nuclear Safety Commission is currently involved in pre-licensing vendor design reviews - an optional service to assess of a nuclear power plant design based on a vendor's reactor technology - for ten small reactors with capacities in the range of 3 - 3
Nuclear Safety Commission is currently involved in pre-licensing vendor
design reviews - an optional service to assess
of a
nuclear power plant design based on a vendor's reactor technology - for ten small reactors with capacities in the range of 3 - 3
nuclear power
plant design based on a vendor's reactor technology - for ten small reactors with capacities in the range
of 3 - 300 MWe.
Susan Amara, USA - «Regulation
of transporter function and trafficking by amphetamines, Structure - function relationships in excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs), Modulation
of dopamine transporters (DAT) by GPCRs, Genetics and functional analyses
of human trace amine receptors» Tom I. Bonner, USA (Past Core Member)- Genomics, G protein coupled receptors Michel Bouvier, Canada - Molecular Pharmacology
of G protein - Coupled Receptors; Molecular mechanisms controlling the selectivity and efficacy
of GPCR signalling Thomas Burris, USA -
Nuclear Receptor Pharmacology and Drug Discovery William A. Catterall, USA (Past Core Member)- The Molecular Basis of Electrical Excitability Steven Charlton, UK - Molecular Pharmacology and Drug Discovery Moses Chao, USA - Mechanisms of Neurotophin Receptor Signaling Mark Coles, UK - Cellular differentiation, human embryonic stem cells, stromal cells, haematopoietic stem cells, organogenesis, lymphoid microenvironments, develomental immunology Steven L. Colletti, USA Graham L Collingridge, UK Philippe Delerive, France - Metabolic Research (diabetes, obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver, cardio - vascular diseases, nuclear hormone receptor, GPCRs, kinases) Sir Colin T. Dollery, UK (Founder and Past Core Member) Richard M. Eglen, UK Stephen M. Foord, UK David Gloriam, Denmark - GPCRs, databases, computational drug design, orphan recetpors Gillian Gray, UK Debbie Hay, New Zealand - G protein - coupled receptors, peptide receptors, CGRP, Amylin, Adrenomedullin, Migraine, Diabetes / obesity Allyn C. Howlett, USA Franz Hofmann, Germany - Voltage dependent calcium channels and the positive inotropic effect of beta adrenergic stimulation; cardiovascular function of cGMP protein kinase Yu Huang, Hong Kong - Endothelial and Metabolic Dysfunction, and Novel Biomarkers in Diabetes, Hypertension, Dyslipidemia and Estrogen Deficiency, Endothelium - derived Contracting Factors in the Regulation of Vascular Tone, Adipose Tissue Regulation of Vascular Function in Obesity, Diabetes and Hypertension, Pharmacological Characterization of New Anti-diabetic and Anti-hypertensive Drugs, Hypotensive and antioxidant Actions of Biologically Active Components of Traditional Chinese Herbs and Natural Plants including Polypehnols and Ginsenosides Adriaan P. IJzerman, The Netherlands - G protein - coupled receptors; allosteric modulation; binding kinetics Michael F Jarvis, USA - Purines and Purinergic Receptors and Voltage-gated ion channel (sodium and calcium) pharmacology Pain mechanisms Research Reproducibility Bong - Kiun Kaang, Korea - G protein - coupled receptors; Glutamate receptors; Neuropsychiatric disorders Eamonn Kelly, Prof, UK - Molecular Pharmacology of G protein - coupled receptors, in particular opioid receptors, regulation of GPCRs by kinasis and arrestins Terry Kenakin, USA - Drug receptor pharmacodynamics, receptor theory Janos Kiss, Hungary - Neurodegenerative disorders, Alzheimer's disease Stefan Knapp, Germany - Rational design of highly selective inhibitors (so call chemical probes) targeting protein kinases as well as protein interaction inhibitors of the bromodomain family Andrew Knight, UK Chris Langmead, Australia - Drug discovery, GPCRs, neuroscience and analytical pharmacology Vincent Laudet, France (Past Core Member)- Evolution of the Nuclear Receptor / Ligand couple Margaret R. MacLean, UK - Serotonin, endothelin, estrogen, microRNAs and pulmonary hyperten Neil Marrion, UK - Calcium - activated potassium channels, neuronal excitability Fiona Marshall, UK - GPCR molecular pharmacology, structure and drug discovery Alistair Mathie, UK - Ion channel structure, function and regulation, pain and the nervous system Ian McGrath, UK - Adrenoceptors; autonomic transmission; vascular pharmacology Graeme Milligan, UK - Structure, function and regulation of G protein - coupled receptors Richard Neubig, USA (Past Core Member)- G protein signaling; academic drug discovery Stefan Offermanns, Germany - G protein - coupled receptors, vascular / metabolic signaling Richard Olsen, USA - Structure and function of GABA - A receptors; mode of action of GABAergic drugs including general anesthetics and ethanol Jean - Philippe Pin, France (Past Core Member)- GPCR - mGLuR - GABAB - structure function relationship - pharmacology - biophysics Helgi Schiöth, Sweden David Searls, USA - Bioinformatics Graeme Semple, USA - GPCR Medicinal Chemistry Patrick M. Sexton, Australia - G protein - coupled receptors Roland Staal, USA - Microglia and neuroinflammation in neuropathic pain and neurological disorders Bart Staels, France - Nuclear receptor signaling in metabolic and cardiovascular diseases Katerina Tiligada, Greece - Immunopharmacology, histamine, histamine receptors, hypersensitivity, drug allergy, inflammation Georg Terstappen, Germany - Drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases with a focus on AD Mary Vore, USA - Activity and regulation of expression and function of the ATP - binding cassette (ABC) trans
Nuclear Receptor Pharmacology and Drug Discovery William A. Catterall, USA (Past Core Member)- The Molecular Basis
of Electrical Excitability Steven Charlton, UK - Molecular Pharmacology and Drug Discovery Moses Chao, USA - Mechanisms
of Neurotophin Receptor Signaling Mark Coles, UK - Cellular differentiation, human embryonic stem cells, stromal cells, haematopoietic stem cells, organogenesis, lymphoid microenvironments, develomental immunology Steven L. Colletti, USA Graham L Collingridge, UK Philippe Delerive, France - Metabolic Research (diabetes, obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver, cardio - vascular diseases,
nuclear hormone receptor, GPCRs, kinases) Sir Colin T. Dollery, UK (Founder and Past Core Member) Richard M. Eglen, UK Stephen M. Foord, UK David Gloriam, Denmark - GPCRs, databases, computational drug design, orphan recetpors Gillian Gray, UK Debbie Hay, New Zealand - G protein - coupled receptors, peptide receptors, CGRP, Amylin, Adrenomedullin, Migraine, Diabetes / obesity Allyn C. Howlett, USA Franz Hofmann, Germany - Voltage dependent calcium channels and the positive inotropic effect of beta adrenergic stimulation; cardiovascular function of cGMP protein kinase Yu Huang, Hong Kong - Endothelial and Metabolic Dysfunction, and Novel Biomarkers in Diabetes, Hypertension, Dyslipidemia and Estrogen Deficiency, Endothelium - derived Contracting Factors in the Regulation of Vascular Tone, Adipose Tissue Regulation of Vascular Function in Obesity, Diabetes and Hypertension, Pharmacological Characterization of New Anti-diabetic and Anti-hypertensive Drugs, Hypotensive and antioxidant Actions of Biologically Active Components of Traditional Chinese Herbs and Natural Plants including Polypehnols and Ginsenosides Adriaan P. IJzerman, The Netherlands - G protein - coupled receptors; allosteric modulation; binding kinetics Michael F Jarvis, USA - Purines and Purinergic Receptors and Voltage-gated ion channel (sodium and calcium) pharmacology Pain mechanisms Research Reproducibility Bong - Kiun Kaang, Korea - G protein - coupled receptors; Glutamate receptors; Neuropsychiatric disorders Eamonn Kelly, Prof, UK - Molecular Pharmacology of G protein - coupled receptors, in particular opioid receptors, regulation of GPCRs by kinasis and arrestins Terry Kenakin, USA - Drug receptor pharmacodynamics, receptor theory Janos Kiss, Hungary - Neurodegenerative disorders, Alzheimer's disease Stefan Knapp, Germany - Rational design of highly selective inhibitors (so call chemical probes) targeting protein kinases as well as protein interaction inhibitors of the bromodomain family Andrew Knight, UK Chris Langmead, Australia - Drug discovery, GPCRs, neuroscience and analytical pharmacology Vincent Laudet, France (Past Core Member)- Evolution of the Nuclear Receptor / Ligand couple Margaret R. MacLean, UK - Serotonin, endothelin, estrogen, microRNAs and pulmonary hyperten Neil Marrion, UK - Calcium - activated potassium channels, neuronal excitability Fiona Marshall, UK - GPCR molecular pharmacology, structure and drug discovery Alistair Mathie, UK - Ion channel structure, function and regulation, pain and the nervous system Ian McGrath, UK - Adrenoceptors; autonomic transmission; vascular pharmacology Graeme Milligan, UK - Structure, function and regulation of G protein - coupled receptors Richard Neubig, USA (Past Core Member)- G protein signaling; academic drug discovery Stefan Offermanns, Germany - G protein - coupled receptors, vascular / metabolic signaling Richard Olsen, USA - Structure and function of GABA - A receptors; mode of action of GABAergic drugs including general anesthetics and ethanol Jean - Philippe Pin, France (Past Core Member)- GPCR - mGLuR - GABAB - structure function relationship - pharmacology - biophysics Helgi Schiöth, Sweden David Searls, USA - Bioinformatics Graeme Semple, USA - GPCR Medicinal Chemistry Patrick M. Sexton, Australia - G protein - coupled receptors Roland Staal, USA - Microglia and neuroinflammation in neuropathic pain and neurological disorders Bart Staels, France - Nuclear receptor signaling in metabolic and cardiovascular diseases Katerina Tiligada, Greece - Immunopharmacology, histamine, histamine receptors, hypersensitivity, drug allergy, inflammation Georg Terstappen, Germany - Drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases with a focus on AD Mary Vore, USA - Activity and regulation of expression and function of the ATP - binding cassette (ABC) trans
nuclear hormone receptor, GPCRs, kinases) Sir Colin T. Dollery, UK (Founder and Past Core Member) Richard M. Eglen, UK Stephen M. Foord, UK David Gloriam, Denmark - GPCRs, databases, computational drug
design, orphan recetpors Gillian Gray, UK Debbie Hay, New Zealand - G protein - coupled receptors, peptide receptors, CGRP, Amylin, Adrenomedullin, Migraine, Diabetes / obesity Allyn C. Howlett, USA Franz Hofmann, Germany - Voltage dependent calcium channels and the positive inotropic effect
of beta adrenergic stimulation; cardiovascular function
of cGMP protein kinase Yu Huang, Hong Kong - Endothelial and Metabolic Dysfunction, and Novel Biomarkers in Diabetes, Hypertension, Dyslipidemia and Estrogen Deficiency, Endothelium - derived Contracting Factors in the Regulation
of Vascular Tone, Adipose Tissue Regulation
of Vascular Function in Obesity, Diabetes and Hypertension, Pharmacological Characterization
of New Anti-diabetic and Anti-hypertensive Drugs, Hypotensive and antioxidant Actions
of Biologically Active Components
of Traditional Chinese Herbs and Natural
Plants including Polypehnols and Ginsenosides Adriaan P. IJzerman, The Netherlands - G protein - coupled receptors; allosteric modulation; binding kinetics Michael F Jarvis, USA - Purines and Purinergic Receptors and Voltage-gated ion channel (sodium and calcium) pharmacology Pain mechanisms Research Reproducibility Bong - Kiun Kaang, Korea - G protein - coupled receptors; Glutamate receptors; Neuropsychiatric disorders Eamonn Kelly, Prof, UK - Molecular Pharmacology
of G protein - coupled receptors, in particular opioid receptors, regulation
of GPCRs by kinasis and arrestins Terry Kenakin, USA - Drug receptor pharmacodynamics, receptor theory Janos Kiss, Hungary - Neurodegenerative disorders, Alzheimer's disease Stefan Knapp, Germany - Rational
design of highly selective inhibitors (so call chemical probes) targeting protein kinases as well as protein interaction inhibitors
of the bromodomain family Andrew Knight, UK Chris Langmead, Australia - Drug discovery, GPCRs, neuroscience and analytical pharmacology Vincent Laudet, France (Past Core Member)- Evolution
of the
Nuclear Receptor / Ligand couple Margaret R. MacLean, UK - Serotonin, endothelin, estrogen, microRNAs and pulmonary hyperten Neil Marrion, UK - Calcium - activated potassium channels, neuronal excitability Fiona Marshall, UK - GPCR molecular pharmacology, structure and drug discovery Alistair Mathie, UK - Ion channel structure, function and regulation, pain and the nervous system Ian McGrath, UK - Adrenoceptors; autonomic transmission; vascular pharmacology Graeme Milligan, UK - Structure, function and regulation of G protein - coupled receptors Richard Neubig, USA (Past Core Member)- G protein signaling; academic drug discovery Stefan Offermanns, Germany - G protein - coupled receptors, vascular / metabolic signaling Richard Olsen, USA - Structure and function of GABA - A receptors; mode of action of GABAergic drugs including general anesthetics and ethanol Jean - Philippe Pin, France (Past Core Member)- GPCR - mGLuR - GABAB - structure function relationship - pharmacology - biophysics Helgi Schiöth, Sweden David Searls, USA - Bioinformatics Graeme Semple, USA - GPCR Medicinal Chemistry Patrick M. Sexton, Australia - G protein - coupled receptors Roland Staal, USA - Microglia and neuroinflammation in neuropathic pain and neurological disorders Bart Staels, France - Nuclear receptor signaling in metabolic and cardiovascular diseases Katerina Tiligada, Greece - Immunopharmacology, histamine, histamine receptors, hypersensitivity, drug allergy, inflammation Georg Terstappen, Germany - Drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases with a focus on AD Mary Vore, USA - Activity and regulation of expression and function of the ATP - binding cassette (ABC) trans
Nuclear Receptor / Ligand couple Margaret R. MacLean, UK - Serotonin, endothelin, estrogen, microRNAs and pulmonary hyperten Neil Marrion, UK - Calcium - activated potassium channels, neuronal excitability Fiona Marshall, UK - GPCR molecular pharmacology, structure and drug discovery Alistair Mathie, UK - Ion channel structure, function and regulation, pain and the nervous system Ian McGrath, UK - Adrenoceptors; autonomic transmission; vascular pharmacology Graeme Milligan, UK - Structure, function and regulation
of G protein - coupled receptors Richard Neubig, USA (Past Core Member)- G protein signaling; academic drug discovery Stefan Offermanns, Germany - G protein - coupled receptors, vascular / metabolic signaling Richard Olsen, USA - Structure and function
of GABA - A receptors; mode
of action
of GABAergic drugs including general anesthetics and ethanol Jean - Philippe Pin, France (Past Core Member)- GPCR - mGLuR - GABAB - structure function relationship - pharmacology - biophysics Helgi Schiöth, Sweden David Searls, USA - Bioinformatics Graeme Semple, USA - GPCR Medicinal Chemistry Patrick M. Sexton, Australia - G protein - coupled receptors Roland Staal, USA - Microglia and neuroinflammation in neuropathic pain and neurological disorders Bart Staels, France -
Nuclear receptor signaling in metabolic and cardiovascular diseases Katerina Tiligada, Greece - Immunopharmacology, histamine, histamine receptors, hypersensitivity, drug allergy, inflammation Georg Terstappen, Germany - Drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases with a focus on AD Mary Vore, USA - Activity and regulation of expression and function of the ATP - binding cassette (ABC) trans
Nuclear receptor signaling in metabolic and cardiovascular diseases Katerina Tiligada, Greece - Immunopharmacology, histamine, histamine receptors, hypersensitivity, drug allergy, inflammation Georg Terstappen, Germany - Drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases with a focus on AD Mary Vore, USA - Activity and regulation
of expression and function
of the ATP - binding cassette (ABC) transporters
It is not a required part
of the licensing process for a new
nuclear power
plant, but aims to verify the acceptability
of a
design with respect to Canadian
nuclear regulatory requirements and expectations.
Executive Chairman Mr. Beckman has forty - five years
of experience in the management, operation, maintenance,
design, and regulation
of nuclear power
plants, spent
nuclear fuel and
nuclear waste, and US Department
of Energy
nuclear research and defense facilities.
Small modular reactors - which are approximately one - third the size
of current
nuclear power
plants - have compact, scalable
designs that are expected to offer a host
of safety, construction and economic benefits.
China is also the most likely place [where] new
nuclear designs which can eliminate many
of the problems
of today's
nuclear plants will get tried.
He's been ramping up his own commitments since then, and pledged last year to double his investments (to $ 2 billion) on a host
of energy frontiers in the next five years — from new battery and solar technologies to a safer
nuclear plant design to tethered, high - flying wind turbines that might harness the power
of the jet stream.
And the best case is that we have our pilot
plant built by 2023, and that by 2030, this fourth - generation inherently safe
design with all sorts
of nice characteristics, including cost, becomes the standard for all
nuclear builds from that point forward.
DOE also claims 6 years lead time for
nuclear; at a round table discussion with utility CEOs (from a business site I didn't bookmark and cant find), one
of them said jestingly that a new
nuclear plant takes 15 years — 5 for
design & permitting, 5 for litigation, and 5 for construction.
This EPR
plant represents the «new generation»
of nuclear power
plants that would supposedly be faster and cheaper to build, and free
of the problems that plagued previous
designs, and has been touted by the industry as the foundation
of its «revival».
Nonetheless, the film's sections exploring how
nuclear technology became demonized, from the abandonment
of the completed Shoreham
plant on Long Island to the shutdown
of government research on a next generation
of plant designs, are informative and convincing.
This is an extraordinarily important failure
of a
nuclear plant and the inadequate
design — which utterly discounted tsunami risks, for instance — raises big questions about how best to manage the world's aging fleet
of older
nuclear plants — including the one here on the Hudson River — going forward.
And for the first time, 20 governments and a passel
of billionaires led by Bill Gates announced plans to ramp up long - lagging investments in basic research and development on clean energy — like advancing cheap, extensive battery storage to maximize the potential
of solar power, safer
nuclear plant designs and even technologies to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The 5.8 - magnitude quake, centered in Virginia 84 miles southwest
of Washington, D.C., is a reminder
of the importance
of factoring in shaking in the
design of buildings and important installations like
nuclear power
plants.
With the AP - 1000, the idea was that the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) would license the
plant and reactor
design just once, giving its owners the security
of moving forward with construction plans without fear that their
design would be rejected by NRC.
While the cost
of building
nuclear plants rose when it switched
designs, construction costs fell when it built the same reactor on the same site using the same team.
Already by the early 1970s, U.S.
nuclear plant operators were seeking to standardize
nuclear plant design to reduce the time and cost
of licensing and construction.
Given the
nuclear solution requires new reactor
designs yet to be built even for demonstration and test purposes, and then the complexities
of siting
nuclear power
plants near the calling water they need while defending them against flood waters makes construction
of tested
designs take a decade.
That means building the access roads, levelling the ground, preparing for the concrete foundations and a host
of other activities, independent
of choosing the one or more international partners who are offering their
nuclear plant designs.
Studies show that standardized
designs, multiple reactors on one site, and a vertically integrated builder were the keys to declines in the cost
of building
nuclear power
plants in France and Korea.
However few things are
designed more in mind
of risk and danger than a commercial
nuclear plant.