DoE awards over $10m for GNEP siting studies
31 January 2007
The US Department of Energy (DoE) has awarded more than $10 million to 11 commercial and public consortia selected to conduct detailed siting studies for integrated used fuel recycling facilities. The consortia have until 30 May to submit their reports.
President Bush's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) initiative proposes private-public-international partnerships to develop advanced technologies to recycle used nuclear fuel, reduce wastes, and avoid misuse of nuclear materials. DoE is considering a two-track approach to demonstrate technologies under GNEP. The first track involves deployment of commercial-scale facilities that may be ready for deployment now or in the near future. The second track would focus on further research and development on transmutation fuels technologies.
“These facilities will enable us to effectively recycle spent nuclear fuel in a safe and proliferation-resistant manner. They will set the technological standard and allow us to influence energy policy abroad while increasing energy security here at home,” DoE Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dennis Spurgeon said. “With the negotiations complete, we are ready to proceed from an initial phase to one where actual studies can explore sites for GNEP-related facilities.”
Award recipients, announced in November 2006, will carry out siting studies to determine the possibility of hosting the Consolidated Fuel Treatment Centre (CFTC) and/or an Advanced Burner Reactor (ABR). Recipients will have until 30 May to complete detailed site characterization studies of the sites and submit a Site Characterization Report to DoE.
Of the 11 sites, six are currently owned and operated by DoE. Information generated from the detailed siting studies of non-DoE sites is expected to address a variety of site-related matters, including site and nearby land uses; demographics; ecological and habitat assessment; threatened or endangered species; historical, archaeological and cultural resources; geology and seismology; weather and climate; and regulatory and permitting requirements. Information requirements for the DoE sites are more limited due to the availability of previous studies.
| SITES, LEAD AWARD RECIPIENTS, AND AWARD AMOUNTS ARE AS FOLLOWS: | Proposed site location | Teaming consortia | Award amounts | | Atomic City, Idaho | Energy Solutions, LLC | $915,448 | | Barnwell , South Carolina | Energy Solutions, LLC | $963,151 | | Hanford Site, Washington | Tri-City Industrial Development Council/Columbia Basin Consulting Group | $1,020,000 | | Hobbs , New Mexico | Eddy Lea Energy Alliance | $1,590,016 | | Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho | Regional Development Alliance, Inc | $648,745 | | Morris , Illinois | General Electric Co | $1,484,875 | | Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee | Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee | $894,704 | | Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Kentucky | Paducah Uranium Plant Asset Utilization, Inc | $664,600 | | Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Ohio | Piketon Initiative for Nuclear Independence, LLC | $673,761 | | Roswell , New Mexico | Energy Solutions, LLC | $1,134,522 | | Savannah River National Laboratory, South Carolina | Economic Development Partnership of Aiken and Edgefield Counties | $468,420 | | | TOTAL: | $10,458,242 | |
Further information
US Department of Energy
The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership