Provisions Of The Nuclear Power Plants Initiative

This publication provides guidance on project management from the preparatory phase to plant turnover to commissioning of nuclear power plants. The guidelines and experiences described will enable project managers to obtain better performance in nuclear power plant construction.

This publication emphasizes how various risks -- including those typically considered to be 'engineering risks' -- will give rise to such financial risks.

Nuclear energy policy issues facing Congress include questions about radioactive waste management, research and development priorities, power plant safety and regulation, terrorism, and the Price-Anderson Act nuclear liability system. The Bush Administration has stressed the importance of nuclear power in the nation's energy policy. The Administration's FY2004 budget request includes $35 million for a Department of Energy (DOE) effort to encourage deployment of new commercial nuclear power plants by 2010, about the same as the FY2003 appropriation. The Administration is also seeking $4 million for the Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative, a new DOE program in which nuclear reactors would produce hydrogen to fuel motor vehicles. Several bills were introduced, but not passed, in the 107th Congress to encourage the growth of nuclear power. A number of nuclear provisions were included in comprehensive energy legislation (H.R. 4) passed by the House August 2, 2001, and by the Senate April 25, 2002. Conferees were unable to reach agreement on the measure. The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States raised questions about nuclear power plant security. Reactor security provisions were included in a Price-Anderson extension bill passed by the House November 27, 2001 (H.R. 2983), and in several other bills. An ...

Nuclear energy policy issues facing Congress include the implementation of federal incentives for new commercial reactors, radioactive waste management policy, research and development priorities, power plant safety and regulation, nuclear weapons proliferation, and security against terrorist attacks. The Bush Administration has called for an expansion of nuclear power. For Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear energy research and development and infrastructure, the Administration requested $801.7 million for FY2008, nearly 30% above the FY2007 funding level. The request would have boosted funding for the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) from $167.5 million in FY2007 to $395.0 million in FY2008. The FY2008 omnibus appropriations act holds AFCI to $181 million and shifts the mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel program-totaling $281 million-to the nuclear energy program from the nuclear nonproliferation program. That brings the nuclear energy total to $970.5 million ($961.7 million with an across-the-board rescission), about 20% above the request. An additional $75.9 million provided in the Other Defense Activities account brings the Office of Nuclear Energy's total spending level to $1.046 billion ($1.037 billion with the rescission).

Commissioning is one of the key steps towards putting into service a new nuclear facility, or a new system, structure or component within an existing facility. Commissioning activities need to be planned early in the design and procurement process, with careful consideration of eventual acceptance criteria and test methods. This publication describes commissioning in its basic form, the commissioning process specific to nuclear power plants (NPPs), the relevant management system requirements, typical organizational models and critical human resources issues. It also provides details on experience and lessons learned obtained in IAEA Member States. The publication will be of use to all stakeholders involved in the commissioning of NPPs, including owner operators, contractors, engineers, regulatory bodies and vendors.

After several decades of decline and disfavour, nuclear power is attracting renewed interest. New permit applications for 30 reactors have been filed in the United States, and another 150 are planned or proposed globally, with about a dozen more already under construction. In the United States, interest appears driven, in part, by provisions in the 2005 Energy Policy Act authorising streamlined licensing that combine construction and operating permits, and tax credits for production from advanced nuclear power facilities. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Energy proposes to spend billions of dollars to develop the next generation of nuclear power technology.

Member States intending to introduce a nuclear power programme will need to pass through several phases during the implementation. Experience shows that careful planning of the objectives, roles, responsibilities, interfaces and tasks to be carried out in different phases of a nuclear project is important for success. This publication presents a harmonized approach that may be used to structure the owner/operator management system and establish and manage nuclear projects and their development activities irrespective of the adopted approach. It has been developed from shared management practices and consolidated experiences provided by nuclear project management specialists through a series of workshops and working groups organized by the IAEA. The resultant publication presents a useful framework for the management of nuclear projects from initiation to closeout and captures international best practices.