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DoE awards over $10m for GNEP siting studies

Wednesday, 31 January 2007

The US Department of Energy 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.

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