Nuclear power: the challenge

Nuclear power's attractiveness as a generation option has been based on the premise of a reasonably stable regulatory requirement in which a capital-intensive alternative can be designed, built and licensed. While such a set of circumstances seems to exist in other countries, the U.S. has encountered institutional, public and financial community uncertainties. To achieve the earlier promise, a major effort is needed by all the participants. Extraordinary operating performance of the existing units, timely completion of the plants under construction, and the resolution of the institutional issues should do much to build confidence in the nuclear alternative. Successful operating experiences and technological advances that continue in other countries should boost the U.S. confidence in nuclear power. The current trend of joint U.S.-Japanese studies of advanced designs will probably continue. At the turn of the century, some 10,000 years of reactor operating experience should have been gathered worldwide. The economics of the option should have been proven in many countries. The U.S. public should have much better understanding of the risks of nuclear power relative to other hazards encountered daily. The current hiatus should be viewed as an opportunity to benefit from the lessons learned over the past two decades. Thesemore » experiences should serve as a firm foundation on which to develop the basis to: demonstrate the high operating performance and economics that can be achieved with nuclear power generating systems; complete the units under construction in a manner that proves that shorter lead times can be achieved; clarify the standards and regulations so that they are well understood and require little future change; complete the source term research and achieve a public appreciation of the safety of nuclear power systems; develop an advanced LWR concept that can be built in 5-6 years and with substantially less uncertainty than the current units.« less