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One of the great challenges of designing and licensing the Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR)is confirming that the intended VHTR analysis tools can be used confidently to make decisions, thereby ensuring that all reactor systems are safe and compliant with the performance objectives of the Generation IV Program. The research and development (R&D) methods defined in this technical program plan will ensure that the tools used to perform the required calculations and analyses can be trusted. The R&D tasks are designed to ensure that the calculational envelope of the tools used to analyze the VHTR reactor systems encompasses or is larger than the operational and transient envelope of the VHTR itself.

This report outlines the significant nuclear energy research and development (R&D) necessary to create options that will allow government and industrial decision-makersto set policies and create nuclear energy initiatives that are decisive and sustainable.

“In this country, the infrastructure is privately owned but the government has to ensure that the nation’s long-term interests are served,” said John Grossenbacher, director of the Idaho National Laboratory. “We need to begin the discussion in those terms. We need to be pragmatic. We can’t fall into the trap of romanticizing or demonizing any energy form. We need a factual discussion. Unfortunately, it’s now extraordinarily politicized.”

This is Part 2 of an In-Depth Report on The Future of Nuclear Power.] Brown's Ferry is the name of an unprepossessing boat crossing on the Tennessee River in Alabama. It is also the birthplace of a revival for nuclear power in the U.S. In May 2007 the one gigawatt-electric nuclear reactor known prosaically as Unit 1 restarted boiling water—after a 22-year shutdown and a refurbishment that cost $1.8 billion.

This brown state-green state clash is likely to encumber any effort to set a mandatory ceiling on the carbon dioxide emissions blamed as the biggest contributor to global warming, something Mr. Obama has declared to be one of his highest priorities. Mr. Obama has said he intends to press ahead on such an initiative, despite opposition within his own party in Congress and divisions among some of his advisers over the timing, scope and cost of legislation to curb carbon emissions.

“In this country, the infrastructure is privately owned but the government has to ensure that the nation’s long-term interests are served,” said John Grossenbacher, director of the Idaho National Laboratory. “We need to begin the discussion in those terms. We need to be pragmatic. We can’t fall into the trap of romanticizing or demonizing any energy form. We need a factual discussion. Unfortunately, it’s now extraordinarily politicized.”

Let me start off by noting that this conference seems to be, more or less, a promotional event for nuclear energy. That means that under normal circumstances I would not even speak at an event like this, as my lawyers made a point of reminding me. But I thought it was important to come in order raise the safety message, and discuss how our licensing process works.

I’m pleased to be here today to give you a brief overview of how the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is using computer modeling and analysis techniques to meet our challenges in licensing, in beyond design-basis assessments, and in evaluating potential safety issues arising from operating experience.

WASHINGTON –The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today delivered to Congress the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Licensing Strategy Report. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 directed the agencies to jointly develop a strategy for licensing the NGNP demonstration plant. The report to Congress explains that current NRC requirements for light-water reactors need to be adapted for the advanced non-light-water reactor designs DOE is considering under the NGNP initiative. The report also describes the analytical tools, research and development activities and estimated resources necessary to complete an NRC licensing review by 2017, which would allow DOE to build and begin operating the plant by 2021. “The NRC’s new reactor licensing process is currently focused on light-water reactors, and the staff is confident this basic framework can also support an NGNP review,” said NRC Chairman Dale Klein. “We will work with DOE to supplement that framework with NGNP-specific items.” The report outlines DOE’s conclusion that the NGNP would be a very-high-temperature gas-cooled reactor that could produce electricity, as well as process heat and hydrogen. The NGNP supports President Bush’s Advanced Energy Initiative, which advocates new investments and nuclear power policies to increase our nation’s energy security. “DOE is committed to the development and commercial deployment of NGNP technology in a timely manner,” said DOE Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dennis Spurgeon. “Nuclear energy is vital to our nation’s energy security and the NGNP has the potential to extend the benefits to bring nuclear technology to a whole new sector of the U.S. economy.” The joint Licensing Strategy Report will be available on the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy Web site at: http://www.nuclear.gov . ### News releases are available through a free listserv subscription at the following Web address: http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE link. E-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's Web site.

Thank you for inviting me to kick off the second day of this major conference—which brings together so many different stakeholders from every part of the government and industry, every stage of the fuel cycle, and nearly every part of the world...

WASHINGTON, DC –The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced it is seeking public and industry input on how to best achieve the goals and meet the requirements for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) demonstration project work at DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory.

The people planning the future of nuclear energy measure time in decades and time is already running short for Philip C. Hildebrandt.