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Small modular nuclear reactors not likely before mid-2020s

Posted at 12:22 pm April 13, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

TVA-SMRs-at-NRC-Meeting-April-12-2016

The Tennessee Valley Authority plans to apply by May 12 for an early site permit that could allow small modular nuclear reactors at the Clinch River Site in west Oak Ridge, possibly as soon as the mid-2020s. Pictured above at a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting to discuss the early site permit on Tuesday, April 12, 2016, is Dan Stout, TVA senior manager for small modular reactors. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The small modular nuclear reactors being evaluated for the Clinch River Site in west Oak Ridge could provide an emissions-free fuel source, but it could be a decade or so before they start operating. And that’s assuming all goes according to plan, officials said Tuesday.

The Tennessee Valley Authority is evaluating the possibility of building the small modular reactors, or SMRs, at the 1,200-acre Clinch River Site. To help prepare for the project, TVA plans to apply for what is known as an early site permit, or ESP, for the Oak Ridge project from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission by May 12.

The NRC had two public meetings at Oak Ridge Associated Universities on Tuesday to discuss the safety and environmental review process related to the TVA permit application.

The early site permit application will allow the NRC to evaluate site safety, the environment, and emergency preparedness for future SMRs at the Clinch River Site. That site is in west Oak Ridge just north of the Clinch River and Interstate 40, south of Heritage Center (the former K-25 site), and between Highway 95 and Highway 58 in a bend of the Clinch River.

The review of TVA’s application for an early site permit could take about three years, and maybe longer if any groups raise legal challenges, said Scott Burnell, NRC public affairs officer. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, Government, Slider Tagged With: B&W, Babcock and Wilcox, Bechtel, Clinch River, Clinch River Breeder Reactor, Clinch River Site, Dan Stout, early site permit, ESP, Heritage Center, Idaho National Laboratory, Jim Hopson, Mary Olson, mPower, NRC, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, NuScale, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Scott Burnell, small modular nuclear reactors, small modular reactors, SMR, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Taylor Allred, Tennessee Valley Authority, TVA, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Westinghouse

Former ORNL employee in inaugural engineering Hall of Fame at UT

Posted at 9:22 pm December 26, 2014
By University of Tennessee Leave a Comment

UT Mabe Hall of Fame

Clockwise from upper left are William Snyder, Richard Rosenberg, Rinehart Bright, and Henry Hartsfield. (Photo courtesy UT)

 

Former chancellor, astronaut also honored

KNOXVILLE—In 1847, a course offering studies in mechanical philosophies and mechanics appeared in what was then East Tennessee University.

Now, almost 170 years later, the school is the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and the course has grown into the College of Engineering’s Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, or MABE, two-thirds of which would have been considered science fiction to those many years ago.

Now, the department is calling upon that legacy as it prepares to open its Hall of Fame.

The honor of being in the inaugural class belongs to a chancellor, an astronaut, an automotive pioneer, and a person who had a longtime presence in various Oak Ridge facilities. [Read more…]

Filed Under: College, Education, Front Page News, Honors and Spotlight, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME, astronaut, chancellor, Chrysler Corporation, College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, General Atomic, Henry Hartsfield, MABE, Matthew Mench, mechanical engineering, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Richard Rosenberg, Rinehart Bright, Rinehart S. Bright Laboratory, Space Institute, Space Shuttle Columbia, Tennessee Theatre, University of Tennessee, UT, UT chancellor, Westinghouse, William Snyder

ORNL’s CASL, Westinghouse simulate neutron behavior in nuclear reactor core

Posted at 1:06 pm February 19, 2014
By Oak Ridge National Laboratory Leave a Comment

AP1000 Pressurized Water Reactor

CASL is developing and applying new modeling and simulation technology (Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications Core Simulator or VERA-CS) to resolve and predict the detailed neutron distribution of the power-generation reactor core residing in reactor vessels. (Image courtesy of Westinghouse)

Test run signals emergence of the next generation in nuclear power reactor analysis tools

Scientists and engineers developing more accurate approaches to analyzing nuclear power reactors have successfully tested a new suite of computer codes that closely model “neutronics”—the behavior of neutrons in a reactor core.

Technical staff at Westinghouse Electric Company LLC, supported by the research team at the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors, or CASL, used the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications core simulator (VERA-CS) to analyze its AP1000 advanced pressurized water reactor. The testing focused on modeling the startup conditions of the AP1000 plant design. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: AP1000, Bob Oelrich, CASL, Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors, DOE, Doug Kothe, engineering, Fausto Franceschini, Generation III+ reactor, Innovation Hub, John Turner, neutron, neutronics, nuclear reactor, nuclear science, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, pressurized water reactor, PWR, reactor analysis, reactor core, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, VERA-CS, Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications core simulator, Westinghouse, Westinghouse Electric Company LLC

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Classifieds

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

Public notice: Draft environmental assessment for Y-12 Development Organization at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

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