energy and water appropriations bill Archives

An aerial view of the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo by ORNL)

An aerial view of the Spallation Neutron Source on Chestnut Ridge at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo by ORNL)

Note: This story was updated at 10:15 a.m. Aug. 1.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is pursuing two major upgrades to its Spallation Neutron Source that would allow new scientific research and could cost more than $1 billion.

The two proposed upgrades are a proton power upgrade and a second target station. The two projects are in different stages of review at the U.S. Department of Energy, ORNL spokesperson Morgan McCorkle said.

The proton power upgrade, or PPU, is being pursued first, and its current cost estimate is a little more than $200 million, McCorkle said. If approved, it would double the power of SNSâ€™s proton beam from 1.4 megawatts to 2.8 megawatts.

The upgrade would allow new types of research at SNS, and it wouldÂ increase the number of scientists who can use the facility each year, McCorkle said.

â€œThe PPU will enable experiments that are not currently feasible, such as experiments on smaller or less concentrated samples, and experiments under more extreme environmental conditions,” McCorkle said. “The new scientific capabilities will support research in areas such as soft matter, quantum materials, chemistry, functional materials, and biology. Some examples of everyday products that may be improved by these discoveries include cell phones, batteries, computers, building materials, and drugs.â€

The proton power upgrade would also eventually provide the extra power necessary for the proposed second target station, or STS. The design of the second target station is less mature, but the project could cost in the range of $1 billion and include about 300,000 square feet of new buildings, McCorkle said. The second target station would be on the east end of the SNS campus on Chestnut Ridge at ORNL.

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The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is pictured above in June 2012. (Photo courtesy NNSA)

Appropriations committees in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have recommended funding for a project that could reduce the Protected Area at the Y-12 National Security Complex by about 50 percent.

The House Appropriations Committee approved an energy and water appropriations bill on Wednesday, July 12, that recommended $23.4 million for the project, theÂ West End Protected Area Reduction project, in fiscal year 2018, which starts October 1. That would be up from $2.5 million in fiscal year 2017. (See page 135 here.) If approved, the House bill would direct the National Nuclear Security Administration to give quarterly project updates to the appropriations committees in both houses of Congress “until such time as the NNSA can demonstrate a commitment to move the project forward.” (See page 105 here.)

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved an energy and water appropriations bill on Thursday, July 20, that recommended $5 million in fiscal year 2018. (See page 119 here.) That money isÂ recommended to continue the design work for the project, according to a report on the Senate bill. (See page 98 here.)

The Trump administration did not request any funding for the project, and it’s not clear what level of funding might eventually be approved. [Read more…]