DOE funding pipeline plugs up

Energy Sec. Chu roasts "conservative culture" inside the agency

The Department of Energy has billions in energy program grants and loan guarantees for nuclear and alternative energy programs, but so far the only people who seem to be benefiting from the funding opportunities are consultants who advise perplexed applicants how to meet paperwork requirements.

This brings us to a speech [video] by Sec. of Energy Steven Chu (right) this week to the AAAS in which he let fly with several broadsides at the slow pace of decision making in his own agency.

Before coming to Washingto n, DC, to serve in the new Obama Administration as the Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu was the director of a Department of Energy national laboratory.  So it should come as no surprise to the Nobel Prize winning physicist, who everyone acknowledges is a very smart guy, that the bureaucracy that he knew and loved as a loved as a laboratory director would behave exactly the same way now that he is in charge of it.

This brings us to the issue of federal loan guarantees for new nuclear power plants which have been simmering for some time on DOE's back burner. Congress authorized $18 billion in insurance coverage way back in 2005.  Since then little has happened. 

There are a few milestones. First, the agency issued "implementing regulations." It also hired a director for the program, solicited applications, received and ranked them, and then promptly sat on its hands while blaming everyone else for inaction.

That's not exactly fair, but it is how now Sec. Chu portrayed the situation to an admiring audience of fellow scientist at the AAAS.  According to media reports, Chu wants his agency to get the lead out.

"Chu railed against the conservative culture of the  agency he now runs and described his struggles to get money out the door.

"Newton didn't get it quite right," Chu told the AAAS "

A body in motion tends to stop the next day if pressure is not continually applied."

Stirring the Pot.

Chu didn't stop there. If you thought the first round was pretty hot stuff for a government bureaucrat, wait until you get a load of his "barn burner" report from the trenches at the agency's imposing HQ on Independence Ave. Chu reportedly described DOE as place in which "everyone is afraid of making a mistake"

Chu told the AAAS audience that a "cottage industry" has sprung up over the DOE loan program in which consultants were charging hundreds of thousands of $$$ to help prepare applications because the technologists who stand ready to spend the agency's money can't get any answers, much less decisions, from DOE.

Apparently, Chu asked why the government wasn't  answering applicant's questions and was told that such assistance would be "improper" because it might put other applicants at a disadvantage.

The agency is rolling in money. In addition to over $30 billion in loan guarantees for nuclear and alternative energy projects authorized four years ago, the agency has billions more in new funding under the Economic Stimulus program. It's all just sitting there inside the beltway. That's a heck of a way to roll the government pork barrel, especially in a major recession.  According to Chu, he intends to do something about it.

Either Chu has forgotten everything he ever learned about DOE while he was running one of its labs in California, or he's acquired a whole new perspective now that he's in charge.

His reply on the issue of helping applicants their hands on the money was that "there are two ways to be fair. You can help no one, or you can help everyone. And then I said, consider the alternative." When told that the applications were running up to 1,000 pages, he replied, "I think a 50-page limit is reasonable."

Now there's a guy who want's more people pulling on both  oars all the time.  And he's likely to get his wish. While Sec. Chu was raking his agency over the coals, metaphorically speaking, in the Senate frustrated lawmakers were making their own plans to get DOE's billions out the door and into the hands of energy developers.

Moving day coming soon for loan program

Reuters reports two leading Senators introduced legislation this week that would establish a new independent agency to get government money awarded to fund clean energy investments.

The bipartisan bill, introduced by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman and ranking member Lisa Murkowski, would establish a Clean Energy Deployment Administration within the Energy Department. This is a powerful bipartisan push in a Congress where "bipartisan" efforts have been a scarce commodity.

Reuters report the new agency would provide loans and  loan guarantees to support technologies that diversify the nation's energy supply and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The short translation is that DOE's loan guarantees would get out the door and so would the stimulus money and this year not next.  The main goal of the agency is to back technologies that are deemed "too risky" by private companies.

In addition to the billions of dollars authorized under the 2005 law, the department was also allocated billions for clean energy projects and 'smart grid' transmission loan guarantees in the stimulus package.

Bingaman told Reuters he hopes to have a comprehensive energy package approved by the panel by the Memorial Day holiday on May 25.

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Nuclear reactor new build roundup for May 3, 2009

Who wants to build nuclear reactors?

The Russians and the Brits are going at it as fast as they can, but there are setbacks in the U.S. in Tennessee and Florida.

Russia to build 26 nuclear reactors

The Nikkei Report, Tokyo, reports that Russia has announced it will build 26 new nuclear reactors with electricity generation capacities of 1,000-1,200 MWe each by 2030. Assuming the Russian pricing model, in constant dollars, prevails over the next two decades, the new build has a staggering cost of $78-to-$104 billion.

The Japanese newspaper said that although Russia is encountering increasing financial difficulties, it is putting nuclear power at the center of its energy policy. Success will depend in part on the Russian ruble being worth more than a plugged nickel when the current world financial crisis turns around. Russia plans to pay for its domestic new build in part with earnings from export of its nuclear reactors in deals such as the one it inked with India last December.

According to a statement attributed to Russian Premier Vladimir Putin, Russia plans to increase its total electricity production from nuclear reactors from 16% of total national use to 30% or nearly twice the current capabilities. Some of the new reactors will replace reactors that are currently in service.

Rosatom chief Sergei Kiriyenko (left) reportedly said the state-owned firm will try to diversify sources of investment including using bonds to raise $39 billion for the first half of the new build or 13 new reactors. This suggests a cost of $3 billion for each new power station.

Russia also has problems similar to western nations which is quickly training enough nuclear engineers and technicians to support its nuclear energy ambitions. However, other, and potentially more significant problems, are also challenges for the drive for nuclear energy.

The United Nations Development Program reports declining birth rates and deteriorating health care have drastically shortened life expectancy in the former Soviet Union especially for men. Cases of AIDS and antibiotic resistent TB have increased significantly in recent years. The radical change in demographics affects many state enterprises including the military as well as civilian industrial sectors.

UK auctions three new nuclear sites

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has successfully auctioned off three sites in the U.K. to be used for construction of new nuclear power plants. World Nuclear News reports they are a 178 hectare site at Wylfa, a 119 hectare site at Oldbury, and a 200 hectare site at Bradwell.

The Wylfa site supports a major aluminum smelter and manufacturing operation. Industrialized nations have long relied on nuclear plants to provide reliable power to the aluminum industry. Earlier this year the UAE said its plans for two new reactors in that gulf country would support, in part, a new integrated aluminum smelter and manufacturing plant for the region. However, in the US, a Missouri utility found to its dismay the biggest opponent to expansion of nuclear energy was an aluminum plant.

A consortium of German companies E.ON and RWE took the first two NDA sites in the UK while French EDF took the third. A consortium composed of GDF Suez, Spain’s Iberdola, and Scottish & Southern withdrew from the bidding saying the prices were too high. They plan to participate in bidding for up to eight sites that the UK government will offer that are not on the NDA list.

The total revenue from the auction was {L}387 million or $572 million. The funds will be used for decommissioning and decontamination of closed nuclear sites in the U.K.

E.On and RWE said their plans for the two sites they acquired, plus others, involve construction of up to 6,000 MWe of nuclear generation capacity. However, EDF said it would build 6,400 MWe on its site and others. The total UK new build is expected to bring nuclear energy to 25% of total electricity generation capacity on completion.

In a separate move the UK government named 11 potential sites for new nuclear power plants and most are pads at existing nuclear plants. Three of them are the NDA sites noted above which are now a done deal. The Department of Energy & Climate Change is taking comments until May 14 on the remaining eight sites. Details are available at a special website set up by the agency.

In another development in the UK nuclear industry, A Sheffield company has asked UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to help it complete financing of {L}20 million to build a 15,000 tonne press to make very large nuclear reactor components. It has raised the rest on its own.

The development of the giant press to be built by Forgemasters would support the UK new build and also serve export markets competing head-to-head with Japan Steel. A Forgermasters’ spokesman told the Independent newspaper the plant, if built, would shorten the global backlog of new reactor parts. He added that the UK market alone was worth {L}400 million. He added the expanded plant could sustain enough production to shorten the global backlog of large forgings by two reactors per year in addition to meeting UK needs.

NuStart changes horses but keeps AP1000 design

AP reports that a utility consortium will use a Southern Co. nuclear plant rather than a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) site as the basis for a new combined construction and operating license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The consortium, called NuStart Energy Development, includes TVA and Southern (NYSE:SO). It is developing common standards for licensing, engineering and safety for the AP1000, a Westinghouse design, that could be used by any utility to speed up their licensing process. It plans to build a fleet of them starting with two AP1000s at the Vogtle site. Another two are planned, but work has not started, at TVA’s Bellefonte site.

NuStart and TVA have been using TVA's Bellefonte site in Hollywood, Ala., for the initial application. However, TVA is burdened by the fact the Bellefonte site includes two partially complete reactors. TVA has not yet made up its mind whether to complete them or build the two new units or build all four. Another barrier is that TVA will have to ask Congress to raise its debt ceiling for any of these options. In the current financial turmoil of failed banks and a major recession, it could be difficult for TVA to convince Congress to take this action.

Meanwhile, Southern is roaring ahead to add two more reactors to its Vogtle site. The utility broke ground there in April. TVA is expected to continue work on its Bellefonte application on its own schedule.

Startup of Progress plant in Florida delayed by 20 months

Reuters reports Progress Energy (NYSE:PGN) will delay the construction for its twin AP1000 reactors, and related transmission and distribution infrastructure, reportedly costing $14 billion, in Levy County, FL. It will also delay collection of a rate increase to pay for the plants, the company said on May 1.

The utility said a 20-month delay in the construction schedule for two 1,105-megawatt, AP1000 reactors will push commercial start-up in revenue service for the first unit to 2018, rather than 2016. A second reactor at the site could start-up in early 2020.

The schedule change follows a ruling by the NRC that prevents early excavation and foundation work until Progress receives its license to construct and operate the plant. Progress wanted to go with this work ahead of the license, which is expected in 2012. However, the NRC said it had not yet completed its evaluation of the geology and environmental issues associated with the site.

For its part Progress executives gripped and grinned trying to put a positive spin on the setback.

• The delay may work in their favor from a financial view.

Jeff Lyash, (right) Progress Energy Florida president, said, that while the Florida nuclear reactors remain a "top priority," the delay may be best for customers' wallets, given the severity of the economic slowdown.

"Shifting this portion of the work until we have the combined operating license in hand enables us to spread some of the costs over a longer period," Lyash said.

• The delay may also improve the project's chances of being built.

The shift "provides time for the economy to recover, which should allow for financing in a more stable market," said Progress Energy Chief Executive Bill Johnson.

The Tampa Tribune reports that a significant consumer backlash to the rate increases was rising rapidly so the delay may also play in the favor of the utility. Unemployment is at record highs in Florida and home foreclosures are following behind.  As economic conditions improve, there may be less opposition to the rate increases to pay for the new plants.

Florida was one of the first states to allow utilities to collect early costs ahead of construction. The legislation was seen as a way to advance Gov. Charlie Crist's effort to address global warming concerns by reducing Florida's carbon dioxide emissions. It may still work out that way, but not as fast as Progress wants.  The utility sees backing off of the rate increases as a prudent move to stop the consumer backlash to rate increases from spilling over into legislative action that would repeal current state law.

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President’s Science Advisor calls for new nuclear plants

John Holdren, President Obama’s Science Advisor, says we can do it

In a ground breaking speech [full text] [slides]to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) on April 30, in Washington, DC, John Holdren, (left) President Obama’s Science Advisor, said If nuclear energy is to make a big dent globally, the links between nuclear energy technology and nuclear weapons technology need to be broken. He said the administration is up to the task.

For decades every mass media article about nuclear power inevitably shows either a giant cooling tower or an atomic explosion. Holdren clearly wants to end the association of nuclear energy with weapons. This position has remarkable long-term international implications, but for the moment, the speech at AAAS is a clear signal that the work to achieve that end has begun.

Goodbye to FERC chairman’s renewable energy fantasies

Of equal significant in the current political atmosphere, he also put to rest rampant speculation that a recent speech by FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff that called for no new construction of nuclear plants represents White House policy. Here are the money quotes from his AAAS remarks.

"We are still living in a world that's about 80% dependent on fossil fuels; [in] the United States, more than 85% dependent. That's not going to change overnight, so we can't just say [that] we're going to go immediately, all the way, to unconventional renewables.

We have no way to do that. We have to fix in various ways the conventional options that we're using, as well."

"I think we are going to see some more nuclear power plants in this country. They'll be of a new generation that will be characterized by better safety characteristics; we hope they will be characterized by shorter construction times.”

Holdren isn’t naive when it comes to the problems the industry faces in the long run, but he says the White House is up to the task.

“We still have a problem in this country that there's no agreed upon approach for managing the radioactive waste in the long run, . . . I think the administration will be attentive to how we can do that, as well."

Holdren’s job as a the President’s Science Advisor is a direct report to the oval office. Still, there are many voices competing for the President’s ear, and Obama has demonstrated he is a good listener. The speech is a good start. Let’s see how it translates into action.

See also AAAS ‘Science’ Editorial, May 1, 2009, by John Holdren, Science in the White House; access is free but registration is required.

Video – Holdren at AAAS

The introduction involves an inaudible question from the audience so wait a few seconds for Holdren to hear it and then start his answer

Backfield in motion

Holdren isn’t carrying the ball by himself. This week the White House announced the members of its Science & Technology Advisory Council. Three members of the Council have long experience with energy matters. Other members of the council have long and deep experience in a variety of science disciplines Here are the bios of the three with energy-related backgrounds.

Shirley Ann Jackson is the President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and former Chair of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (1995-1999). She is the University Vice Chairman of the U.S. Council on Competitiveness, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, fellow of the Academy of Arts and Sciences, and past President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Jackson was the first African American woman to earn a doctorate from MIT and chairs the New York Stock Exchange Regulation Board.

Ernest J. Moniz is a Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems, Director of the Energy Initiative, and Director of the Laboratory for Energy and the Environment at MIT. His research centers on energy technology and policy, including the future of nuclear power, coal, natural gas, and solar energy in a low-carbon world. He served as Under Secretary of the Department of Energy (1997-2001) and Associate Director for Science in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (1995-1997).

Maxine Savitz is retired general manager of Technology Partnerships at Honeywell, Inc and has more than 30 years of experience managing research, development and implementation programs for the public and private sectors, including in the aerospace, transportation, and industrial sectors. From 1979 to 1983 she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Conservation in the US Department of Energy. She currently serves as vice-president of the National Academy of Engineering.

John Holdren - brief official bio

Before joining the White House staff in 2009, John P. Holdren was Professor of Environmental Policy and Director of the Program on Science, Technology, and Public Policy at the Kennedy at Harvard University.

His work focuses on causes and consequences of global environmental change, analysis of energy technologies and policies, ways to reduce the dangers from nuclear weapons and materials, and the interaction of content and process in science and technology policy.

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