The Administration's FY 2009 request for the Office of Nuclear Energy proposes $1.419 billion to support the government's efforts to develop new nuclear energy generation technologies to meet energy and climate goals; develop advanced, proliferation-resistant nuclear fuel technologies that maximize energy from nuclear fuel; and maintain and enhance the national nuclear infrastructure. Nuclear energy is an important source of energy in the United States and is a key component of the AEI portfolio. Nuclear energy is clean, safe, and reliable, and already supplies about 20 percent of the nation's electricity. The Department leads the administration's efforts to spur a nuclear renaissance in the United States, necessary to meet energy and climate goals. DOE is working with industry partners to promote the near term licensing and deployment of the first new nuclear plants in over thirty years, as well as to extend the life of current plants. DOE is also developing advanced, more proliferation-resistant nuclear fuel technologies that will maximize energy from nuclear fuel, increasing the stature of nuclear power as a safe, efficient and cost-effective source of energy capable of supporting continued economic growth in the 21st century.
To support the near-term domestic expansion of nuclear energy, the FY 2009 budget seeks $241.6 million for the Nuclear
Power 2010 program to support industry cost-shared, near term technology development and regulatory demonstration activities focused on enabling an industry decision to build a new nuclear plant by 2010. To this end, the program will continue to support industry interactions with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on new plant license applications, as well as first-of-a-kind design finalization for standardized reactor designs. The technology focus of the Nuclear Power 2010 program is on Generation III+ advanced light water reactor designs, which offer advancements in safety and economics over older designs. If successful this seven-year, 50-50 industry cost-shared program could result in a new nuclear power plant order by 2010 and a new nuclear power plant constructed by the private sector and in operation by 2015.
The FY 2009 budget requests $301.5 million for the Advanced
Fuel Cycle Initiative, the technology development element of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP). The request supports research and development activities focused on methods to reduce the volume and long-term toxicity of high-level waste from spent nuclear fuel, reduce the long-term proliferation threat posed by civilian inventories of plutonium in spent fuel, and provide for proliferation-resistant technologies to recover the energy content in spent nuclear fuel. Beginning in FY 2008, NE also is funding the Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility activities, which was previously funded by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility program is requesting $487 million in FY 2009.
The FY 2009 budget request includes $70 million to continue to develop next-generation nuclear energy systems known as “Generation IV (GenIV).” These technologies will offer the promise of a safe, economical, and proliferation resistant source of clean, reliable, sustainable nuclear power with the potetial to generate hydrogen for use as a fuel. Resources in FY 2009 for GenIV will be primarily focused on long-term research and development of a gas-cooled very-high temperature reactor, the reactor technology of choice for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) project. Beginning in FY 2009, Gen IV R&D cross cutting technology areas will focus specifically on component and material aging and degradation where results will directly benefit existing nuclear plants by extending their current operating licensing period and designing advanced reactor concept plants with a longer operating life.
In concert with Gen IV, the Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative (NHI), with funding of $16.6 million, will conduct research and development on enabling technologies, demonstrate nuclear-based hydrogen production technologies, and develop technologies that will apply heat from Generation IV nuclear energy systems to produce hydrogen.
Finally, the FY 2009 request also supports the Idaho National Laboratory which serves as the center for the Department's nuclear energy research and development efforts. The Department has developed a detailed INL Ten Year Site Plan that will guide its investments in INL's infrastructure over the next decade.
