Guest post by James Yu, Director of International and Federal Affairs, AREVA Inc.

Last week, Kelly Trice, President and Chief Operating Officer of Shaw AREVA MOX Services, presented the following video during the Annual Nuclear Deterrence Summit in Arlington, VA.

The conversation underscored the importance of the national nuclear security mission of the MOX Project, through which the United States will fulfill its international commitment to dispose of at least 34 metric tons of nuclear weapons material initiated under the U.S.-Russia Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement of 2000. In turn, Russia is obligated to permanently dispose of at least 34 metric tons of its weapons plutonium.
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Progress can be a matter of perspective, but in the months since an extreme earthquake and tsunami struck the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants, the U.S. nuclear industry has clearly made many significant advancements:

• Began examining every single one of the 104 American nuclear power plants, confirming (PDF) that the ongoing safety and operational upgrades installed during the decades since the plants were built have maintained a secure level of performance and modernization … even in the case of a flooded river plain.
• Established a Fukushima Response Steering Committee of nuclear industry executives and leaders to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated response in the event of an emergency
• Confirmed the vision and value of advancing America’s nuclear power fleet with new, modern reactors, such as AREVA’s EPR™ reactor, built from the ground up with active and automatic safety systems and enhanced operational design efficiencies
• Conducted personal interviews and opened their doors to host facility tours for government, media and public scrutiny of plant security, fuel management, operational processes, and contingency plans
• Engaged in the national nuclear fuel cycle deliberations discussing the option of recycling used fuel to recapture and reuse the 96% energy content that remains, evaluating centralized interim storage of used fuel, and the eventual development of a repository.

As with any advancement, progress is pegged on a continuum from past accomplishments to future goals. The U.S. nuclear industry’s intense, ingrained focus on safety is obvious with the unmatched statistic of zero deaths attributed to operating a commercial nuclear reactor beginning with President Eisenhower commissioning the first commercial nuclear power plant in 1954. No other energy industry in the U.S. comes close to matching this commitment and accomplishment.

In support of the nation’s goal of reduced carbon emissions and energy security, the nuclear power industry can play a larger role if we expand its current 20% supply of America’s electricity demand with modern, safe reactors. Additional reactors could significantly reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and replace fossil-fuel-generated carbon emissions with reliable, sustainable nuclear power. In tandem with expanding renewable energies, expanding safe nuclear energy could help us meet the expected 100% increase in electricity demand by the year 2050 with low-carbon sources.

Great article by Gwyneth Cravens at Bloomberg Businessweek, starting to address the true lessons to learn from Fukushima:

The technical community will review the Japanese nuclear crisis and recommend improvements. Although the reactors properly shut down with the first jolt, the cascade of difficulties brought by the tsunami overwhelmed the site.

In any case, that 1966 plant is outmoded. Modern ones have redundant passive-safety features that would have ensured Fukushima’s stability. These innovations are partly thanks to lessons learned about oversight and human engineering from the meltdown at Three Mile Island. U.S. plants are continuously upgraded, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will be instituting new improvements and encouraging other countries to follow suit.

And she mentions this ultimate key point, that even though it is less visible than the Fukushima crisis, the health and environmental hydrocarbon crisis is ever-present now and needs an ultimate solution:

We are all suffering from a health and environmental catastrophe being unleashed by hydrocarbon combustion. By 2030, power demand is expected to almost double. If we are to keep the lights on while reducing harm to humans and the planet, nuclear power must grow and fossil-fuel power must shrink.

Over on NPR there is some rational thinking from Foreign Policy with one clear message:

“The case for nuclear power remains strong.”

In a piece from James M. Acton, associate in Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment of International Peace, he discusses why nuclear energy is still a safe, rational choice. He points out that the major hurdle will not be rebuilding the why nuclear plants operate, but rebuilding public trust.

Saying:

“This last point is crucial. New reactors, with enhanced safety features, would almost certainly not have befallen the same fate as those at Fukushima Daiichi, which is four decades old. Convincing the public of this argument will be extremely hard now, however.”

Although the new proposed Federal budget is clearly only at it’s earliest stages of formation, we were pleased to see that in the President’s proposal funding for nuclear development is seen as a key priority. As noted at GigaOM:

“The government wants to promote nuclear power in a big way, and the DOE wants to be able to offer $36 billion in loan guarantees which, combined with its existing ability to provide $18.5 billion in loan guarantees for nuclear, would be able to fund six to eight nuclear power projects.”

We hope that this is one area that can see bipartisan support as the different sides in the budget process work their way towards a final plan.

Creating Jobs? Investing in energy infrastructure in the United States? Strengthening the nuclear supply chain?

Today in Idaho, AREVA answered yes to all of these questions while hosting a Suppliers Day Event in Idaho Falls. The event in Idaho was organized to help identify and certify new partner companies to work with AREVA on the construction of the Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility. This is AREVA’s third supplier day (find more details on the others hosted in Baltimore, Maryland and Columbus, Ohio), with a turnout of over 200 companies.

Future site of the Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility in Idaho

AREVA recognizes that a key component to the success of this project will be to have a strong U.S. supply chain, and this event is part of our efforts to expand relationships with American companies to create manufacturing and construction jobs that will supply this facility as well as other new nuclear projects.

The Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility will be a major project for the United States, and AREVA is investing over $4 billion in developing nuclear infrastructure including this domestic facility which will provide greater American energy security. The construction of the project will also provide a major economic boost and is expected to create over 4,000 direct and indirect jobs through 2017.

More information on the Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility is available here, and be sure to check back for updates, as we expect a decision on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission license next summer.

Speaking at the National Press Club on Monday, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu spoke decisively on the rapid growth of clean energy industries in China and other countries. Chu compared this growth to the outpacing of the United States by the Soviet Union with the launch of Sputnik, the first Earth-orbiting satellite, and the Untied States’ immediate response to accelerate the American space program. He noted that today’s clean energy challenge requires:

“a similar mobilization of America’s innovation machine so that we can compete in the global race for the jobs of the future,” Chu said. “When it comes to innovation, Americans don’t take a back seat to anyone – and we certainly won’t start now.”

“From wind power to nuclear reactors to high speed rail, China and other countries are moving aggressively to capture the lead,” said Chu. “Given that challenge, and given the enormous economic opportunities in clean energy, it’s time for America to do what we do best: innovate. As President Obama has said, we should not, cannot, and will not play for second place.”

The International Energy Agency describes energy security as “the uninterrupted physical availability at a price which is affordable, while respecting environment concerns.”

As the world become comparatively smaller with more people and fewer natural resources, the topic of energy security is more and more prominent. Providing energy from domestic and sustainable sources, such as nuclear energy and renewables, is a solution that should get more attention.

It is commonly recognized that renewables—like wind, solar, and biomass—derive their power from natural sources that are continuously available and a relatively certain resource.

As a source of energy that produces no emissions during generation, nuclear energy also has the ability to provide a critical domestic energy for the United States. Beyond this reliability for domestic production, the nuclear fuel recycling also supports the resource availability and security.

Recycling contributes to energy security because 96% of the content of the used fuel is reusable energy. AREVA’s recycling technology enables the recovery of valuable energy resources, providing for greater domestic energy security. In fact, if recycled, the 60,000 metric tons of U.S. commercial used nuclear fuel represents the energy equivalent of eight years of nuclear fuel supply for today’s entire U.S. nuclear reactor fleet. Further, the availability of recycled fuel provides a tool for the nuclear energy sector to protect against potential rises in uranium prices by providing recycled fuel whose production cost is independent of uranium prices.

This sentiment for long term viability was echoed at the recent Asian Nuclear Prospects 2010 Conference. The majority conclusion from the global panel of experts was that recycling used nuclear fuel “is vital for the sustainable growth of nuclear power.” Atomic Energy Commission member member M.R. Srinivasan said: ‘There is some sort of convergence of ideas on the closed fuel cycle amongst Asian countries, Russia, France and others. Asia and Europe can work on a common platform as there is no time available to look for new uranium sources.’

AREVA is the industry leader in development and implementation of digital Instrumentation and Controls (I&C) systems for existing nuclear power plants as well as new plants being constructed and licensed. We recognize and appreciate the need for a comprehensive and independent review by the regulator, in each country, where our systems are licensed and deployed. Based on AREVA’s worldwide experience, we are flexible and well-prepared to adapt designs and implement solutions to address particular regulatory concerns.

The press release issued today by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is a normal and expected part of the design certification process, and AREVA already has begun addressing the issues raised in the communication. In fact, these issues already have been widely discussed in the media and are old news. We do not expect this issue to have a significant effect on the development of U.S. EPR technology in the United States.

AREVA has already proactively identified design modifications to address many NRC questions, and is conducting work on a priority basis to implement those changes to facilitate timely NRC review in support of the design certification. Initial NRC feedback is positive regarding these proposed changes.

In a very limited set of areas, AREVA has stated its desire to maintain the design for enhanced safety and reliability, but is evaluating recent NRC feedback to determine what additional information could be provided to address NRC questions.

AREVA continues in its commitment to open and transparent communication with NRC and will keep them apprised of our plans and progress, to support a predictable and timely design certification review.