The Administration intends to convene a “blue-ribbon” panel of experts to evaluate alternative approaches for meeting the federal responsibility to manage and ultimately dispose of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from both commercial and defense activities. The panel will provide the opportunity for a meaningful dialogue on how best to address this challenging issue and will provide recommendations that will form the basis for working with Congress to revise the statutory framework for managing and disposing of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.
Loan Guarantee Program Office: Investing in the Next Generation of Energy Innovation:
In FY 2010, the Department will continue to provide loans for innovative technologies through the Loan Guarantee Program. The Department requests $43 million in funding in FY 2010 to operate the Office and support personnel and associated costs. This request will be offset by collections authorized under Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-58). The legislation authorizes the Department to provide loan guarantees for renewable energy systems, advanced nuclear facilities, coal gasification, carbon sequestration, energy efficiency, and many other types of projects. To qualify, these projects must avoid, reduce, or sequester air pollutants or anthropogenic emissions of GHG; employ new or significantly improved technologies compared to commercial technologies in service in the US at the time the guarantee is issued; and offer a reasonable prospect of repayment of the principal and interest on the guaranteed obligation. The Department is implementing this program under authorizing law that requires borrowers to pay the credit subsidy costs of these loan guarantees. Section 406 of the Recovery Act amended Title XVII, by adding a new Section 1705, which authorized a temporary program for the rapid deployment of renewable energy and electric power transmission projects. Section 1705 provides $6 billion in appropriated credit subsidy. The Secretary has already moved aggressively to accelerate the pace of loan guarantees, offering the first loan guarantee within the first two months of the Administration.
Office of Nuclear Energy: A Low Carbon Energy Option
In order to develop advanced nuclear energy generation technologies to meet energy and climate goals, to develop advanced, proliferation-resistant nuclear fuel cycle technologies and to maintain the national nuclear technology infrastructure, the Department requests $845 million in the FY 2010 budget request for the Office of Nuclear Energy (NE). This is the final year of investments in demonstrating untested licensing process for new nuclear power plants.
Currently, nuclear energy supplies around 20% of the nation’s electricity and over 70% of clean, non-carbon electricity. Over 100 nuclear power plants are offering reliable and affordable baseload electricity in the United States, and they are doing so without air pollution and GHG missions. Nuclear energy serves as a plentiful and reliable supply of energy today.
The FY 2010 budget requests $192 million for Fuel Cycle Research and Development. The request focuses on long-term, science-based research and development of technologies with the potential to produce beneficial changes to the way in which the nuclear fuel cycle is managed. The research and development activities will provide a more complete understanding of the underlying science supporting the development of advanced fuel cycle technologies – including waste storage and disposal options- and, therefore, provide a sound basis for any future decision on the U.S nuclear fuel cycle.
The FY 2010 budget seeks $20 million to close-out the Nuclear Power 2010 program. This cost-shared, licensing demonstration program supported activities with industry that focused on enabling an industry decision by 2010 to build a new nuclear plant. In FY 2010 the program will complete support of industry interactions with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on the NuStart Construction and Operating License project including meetings with the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safety, issuance of Final Safety Evaluation Reports and Final Environmental Impact Statements, and initiation of hearings by the Atomic Safety Licensing Board.
The FY 2010 budget request includes $191 million to continue the development of advanced nuclear energy systems known as “Generation IV (Gen IV).” These next-generation technologies will enhance the safety, cost-effectiveness, and proliferation-resistance of nuclear power. Gen IV research and development includes activities conducted in support of the solving the underlying technology challenges (fuels, materials, and neutronic and thermofluids modeling) of the Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor, Molten Salt Reactor, Supercritical-Water-Cooled Reactor, Lead-cooled Fast Reactor, Very High Temperature Reactor, and the Gas-cooled Fast Reactor.
The FY 2010 NE budget request also includes $70 million for two of the Department’s eight Energy Innovation Hubs. The Modeling and Simulation Hub will focus on providing validated advanced modeling and simulation tools necessary to enable fundamental change in how the U.S. designs nuclear power and fuel cycle technologies. This has the potential to improve the performance and reduce the costs of nuclear technologies. The Extreme Materials Research Hub will further the fundamental knowledge of the behavior of materials under extreme conditions, including high radiation fields, high temperatures, and corrosive environments over long periods of time, relevant to nuclear energy applications. This work will directly support the development of novel fuels, waste forms, and structural materials.
Office of Fossil Energy: Abundant Energy for the 21st Century
The FY 2010 budget request of $882 million for the Office of Fossil Energy (FE) will help ensure that the US can utilize traditional domestic energy resources in a clean and affordable manner. The United States has 25% of the world’s coal reserves, and fossil fuels currently supply 86 percent of the Nation’s energy. Low-carbon emissions coal plants and methane (natural gas) production from gas hydrates will help allow fossil fuels to be used as abundant and low-carbon emitting energy resources. In direct support of the Department of Energy’s “Energy Security” mission, $229 million of the $882 million has been requested to provide a Strategic Petroleum Reserve program that is environmentally responsible and fully responsive to the needs of the Nation and the public in protecting against potential disruptions in foreign and domestic petroleum supplies.
The Department is committed to advancing Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) technologies in order to promote cleaner and efficient use of fossil fuels. The $3.4 billion in Recovery Act funds, combined with $431 million requested in FY 2010 for CCS research and development, is the foundation of the Department’s clean coal research program which seeks to establish the capability of producing electricity from coal with dramatically reduced atmospheric emissions of carbon dioxide.
