Testimony to the Blue Ribbon Commission
Testimony from Nevadans 4 Carbon Free Energy
www.NevadaEnergyPark.org
To the Blue Ribbon Blue Commission on America’s Nuclear Future
May 13, 2011
Thank you for allowing us to submit this statement.
Nevadans 4 Carbon Free Energy (NV4CFE) is a non-profit organization advocating a change in our nation’s nuclear energy policy from one that treats “spent fuel” as “waste” and supports burying it in the ground for centuries; to a policy that supports reprocessing spent fuel so that it can be used to generate power for decades to come.
We recognize that current technologies don’t make reprocessing (or transmutation) of spent fuel economically viable in the near future, nor do we understand all there is to know about the by product that can be created through reprocessing and recycling. That is why we urge the Commission to recommend the creation of an international research center to expand the exploration of reprocessing technologies — from accelerators to reactors.
We believe a nation that put a man on the moon in 10 years can resolve the current dilemma of how to economically reprocess nuclear spent fuel. We need the equivalent of the JPL to focus on the problem. That is why we support the creation of the Nevada Energy Research Park and are asking Congress to allocate funds from the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) Trust Fund to develop this research center that will support large scale reprocessing demonstration projects.
Once the demonstration projects are completed we will know how much reprocessing will cost and know its impacts. The construction cost for these projects would come from the Trust Fund that the rate payers have already paid, so no tax dollars would be needed to fund this program. With the billions of dollars the government is spending to subsidize “green” energy, doesn’t it make sense to use this existing fund to explore how to create carbon free, base load power from a current waste product?
In addition, this program has the potential to pay for itself and solve the nation’s nuclear waste problem forever. We know that the current rate of 1 mil per KW hour can generate about $1 billion per year. It should not take much more than that to operate a commercial reprocessing unit.
As you know, the amount of spent fuel stored at over 70 sites around the US already exceeds the amount that was to be stored at Yucca. Considering the extreme expense and political challenges facing the opening of one repository — and the fact that it is still not open — it is highly doubtful that the US will be able to build another repository to house future stock piles. Thus, reprocessing and reusing nuclear spent fuel is most likely the only way to economically and “politically” dispose of “nuclear waste.” Older technologies being used in other countries are able to reduce the toxicity and volume of spent fuel by over 50%, meaning we would only need one repository. However, we hope that innovation could actually eliminate “nuclear waste” all together, negating the need to have even one repository! And since experts say that current stock piles of spent fuel can generate over 5 trillion kilowatts of power – why would we bury such a valuable fuel source?
We urge the Commission to recommend that Nevada host this research center, as we have the ideal site. The existing infrastructure at Yucca Mountain and the former Nevada Test Site, now the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) provide an ideal location for a nuclear research complex. More space is needed to build pilot demonstration projects that have only been proven in the lab, and that space is abundant at these contiguous sites in southern Nevada. The existing buildings, roads, and tunnels provide the needed infrastructure to support large projects. The tunnels at Yucca and the NNSS are ideal for hosting linear accelerators – one technology that is proving to be a viable option for reprocessing spent fuel. The vast areas of land and adequate water supplies can also support the construction and operation of small scale “reprocessing” reactors. The talented workforce already in place at the NNSS as well as researchers at UNLV provide an immediate, skilled labor pool ready to help create this international center for nuclear research.
Americans have already invested billions of dollars building these sites – now these sites could be put to use for the benefit of all Americans!
Our vision for the Nevada Energy Research Park would be to host teams from national and international labs, universities, and industry to develop and build large-scale demonstration projects to reprocess spent fuel that could then be used to generate power, or to eliminate the fuel entirely.
The Nevada Energy Research Park should be operated by a non-profit organization that will oversee the construction and operation of the center, similar to the not-for-profit URA Corporation that manages and operates research facilities such as Fermi Lab in Illinois. URA’s charter is “to acquire, plan, construct, and operate machines, laboratories, and other facilities, under contract with the Government, for research, development and education in the physical and biological sciences…” This not-for-profit organizational structure will ensure the participation of the many national and international labs and universities that are currently conducting reprocessing research, bringing together the best minds in the world, working toward a common goal – the elimination of “nuclear waste.”
While we do not support long-term storage of spent fuel at Yucca Mt., we do support the NRC’s completion of the license review as it seems that process must be concluded before Congress will take further action on the issue. At the same time, we support Congress amending the NWPA to focus more on reprocessing of spent fuel instead of long term burial.
Yucca could be used to temporarily store spent fuel while reprocessing technologies are developed to a commercial scale, and we see the benefit of having the fuel all in one remote location. However, the nuclear energy industry has said that on-site storage is safe for 100+ years, and the research process may show us that “regional” reprocessing centers could be built around the US, reducing the need to ship the fuel across the country. It will be necessary for researchers to have access to spent fuel for their demonstration projects, so having some fuel shipped to Yucca during the research stage will be necessary.
We urge the Commission to take a bold step and support expanding research into reprocessing. This could be the Apollo program for the 21st Century, but the giant leap you’ll be taking will help mankind discover how to take “waste” and create clean energy that will power innovation for decades to come.
