UC Berkeley

Per F. PetersonProfessor

Department of Nuclear EngineeringUniversity of California, Berkeley

California Science CenterFebruary 23, 2008

Overview of the Science and Technology

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Energy from Nuclear Fission

• Fission Fuel Energy Density: 8.2 x 1013 J/kg

• Fuel Consumed by 1000-MWe Plant: 3.2 kg/day

• Waste:

.

10-3

10-1

10

60 100 140 180Mass Number

Fission Prod. (3.2 kg/day) Activation ProductsFuel Transuranics, longer

half lives (239Pu, 24,000 yr; 237Np, 2x106 yr; etc.)

Structures Moderate half lives, low-level waste (60Co, 5 yr)

Coolants Low (water) to moderate(metals) half lives

90Sr, 30 yr; 137Cs, 30 yr;99Tc, 2x105 yr; etc.

Transmutation Convert from longto short half life

MiningRadon

from milltails if

not capped

Constructionmaterials

neutron235

U

FISSION PRODUCT

neutron

neutron

fission

235U,

fission

activation

FISSION PRODUCT

ACTIVATIONPRODUCT

CHAINREACTION

239Pu, etc.

200 MeV

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Energy from Fossil Fuels

• Fossil Fuel (Coal) Energy Density: 2.9 x 107 J/kg• Fuel Consumed by 1000-MWe Plant: 7,300,000 kg/day• Waste:

2005 Global Coal Consumption: 5.4 billion tons

Coal Combustion ProductsNOx High temperature

combustionSOx Sulfur in coal (0.4% - 5%)

Ash (5% - 25% of coal mass)

CO2 Global warming

MiningLeachates/dust frommining

Constructionmaterials

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Nuclear Waste

A fuel assembly that will produce energy equivalent to burning 72,000 tons of coal

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Long-term international R&D has improved the current understanding of nuclear waste disposal

• Broad scientific consensus exists that deep geologic isolation can provide long-term, safe and reversible disposal for nuclear wastes

• 25 years of scientific and technical study led to a positive site suitability decision for Yucca Mountain in 2002

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Geologic Isolation Places Nuclear Wastes Deep Underground

Nuclear energy produces small volumes of waste which makes it practical to isolate it from the

environment.

Nuclear energy produces small volumes of waste which makes it practical to isolate it from the

environment.

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Long-term Safety Requirements are Stringent Compared to Those for Chemicals

28 miles

640 miles

The potential long-term impact from geologic disposal is limited groundwater contamination,

a problem that current public health systems already understand how to manage

The potential incremental impact

from Yucca Mountain in the next 1 million

years is small

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Repository Licensing Involves A Detailed Technical Review

• The EPA has issued a draft one million year safety standard for Yucca Mountain

– Maximum impact to an individual using ground water must be less than 15 mrem/year up to 10,000 years, less than 300 mrem/year up to 1 million years

– Average natural background is 300 mrem/year

• DOE has committed to completing a license application in 2008

– Independent review will be performed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

– A decision on a construction license would be reached by 2011

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Construction and Operation of Nuclear Power Plants

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Operation: The Capacity Factor of U.S. Nuclear Plants Has Changed Greatly Since the 1980’s

Capacity Factor (%)89.6 *

50

60

70

80

90

100

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

* 2005 Preliminary

Source: Global Energy Decisions / Energy Information Administration

Updated: 4/06

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Nuclear power now has the lowest production cost of any fuel

0.01.02.03.04.05.06.07.08.09.0

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Nuclear 1.72Coal 2.21Gas 7.51Oil 8.09

2005

Production Costs = Operations and Maintenance Costs + Fuel CostsSource: Global Energy DecisionsUpdated: 6/06

Cents per kwhr

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The near-term question is whether new designs and construction methods will lower construction costs

McGuire Nuclear Station Reactor Building Models.

1000 MW Reactor (Lianyungang Unit 1)

1978: Plastic models on roll-around carts

2000: 4-D computer aided designand virtual walk-throughs

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Generation III+: The new nuclear plant designs

GE ESBWR

Westinghouse AP-1000

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New licensing and construction plans call for a high degree of design standardization

Current NRC Construction License Review Plan

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Conclusions

• A July, 2007 DOE Energy Information Agency study of the McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship bill concluded that the largest single response would be the construction of 145 GW of new nuclear capacity by 2030, on top of the existing 100 GW

• As with climate change, solutions to nuclear waste involve technical and political challenges

– Taking a few decades to effectively address nuclear waste causes no major problems

– Not so for climate change

• The most important near-term question for nuclear energy will be whether reactor vendors can deliver new plants on schedule and on budget

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More slides….

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Life Cycle GHG Emissions

Source: "Life-Cycle Assessment of Electricity Generation Systems and Applications for Climate Change Policy Analysis," Paul J. Meier, University of Wisconsin-Madison, August, 2002.

Life Cycle Emissions

1041

622

17 18 46 14 39 150

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Coal

Natural GasNuclear Hydro

BiomassWind

Solar PVGeothermal

Tons CO2 Equivalent per GWhr

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Resource inputs will affect future capital costs and competition

• Nuclear: 1970’s vintage PWR, 90% capacity factor, 60 year life [1]– 40 MT steel / MW(average)– 190 m3 concrete / MW(average)

• Wind: 1990’s vintage, 6.4 m/s average wind speed, 25% capacity factor, 15 year life [2]

– 460 MT steel / MW (average)– 870 m3 concrete / MW(average)

• Coal: 78% capacity factor, 30 year life [2]– 98 MT steel / MW(average)– 160 m3 concrete / MW(average)

• Natural Gas Combined Cycle: 75% capacity factor, 30 year life [3]– 3.3 MT steel / MW(average)– 27 m3 concrete / MW(average)

1. R.H. Bryan and I.T. Dudley, “Estimated Quantities of Materials Contained in a 1000-MW(e) PWR Power Plant,” Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TM-4515, June (1974)2. S. Pacca and A. Horvath, Environ. Sci. Technol., 36, 3194-3200 (2002).3. P.J. Meier, “Life-Cycle Assessment of Electricity Generation Systems and Applications for Climate Change Policy Analysis,” U. WisconsinReport UWFDM-1181, August, 2002.

Concrete + steel are >95% of construction inputs, and become more expensive in a carbon-constrained economy

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Spent Fuel Can Be Transported Safely and Securely

• Spent fuel assemblies consist of inert ceramic pellets inside corrosion resistant zirconium alloy tubes

• Shipment occurs in massive steel transport canisters weighing many tens of tons

• Thousands of shipments in the U.S., and tens of thousands in Europe (where most spent fuel is reprocessed) have occurred without harm to a single member of the public

• Spent fuel transport adds very small safety and security risks compared to the routine transport of much larger quantities of hazardous chemicals (diesel fuel, liquid chlorine)