James Hopf

Retired nuclear engineer. Climate action and nuclear power advocate. Supporter of tech-neutral climate policies.

[James Hopf @HopfJames]

Article link:
https://t.co/InPZdsMTFf

[James Hopf @HopfJames]

This industry article summarizes potential impacts on nuclear from the "blue wave" election. Article link in reply.

Data centers face significant politcal opposition, particularly on the Democrat side. This could have a negative on nuclear, since many nuclear projects are depending on financial support from tech companies that plan to use nuclear to power their data centers.

As for attitudes of newly elected Dem politicians, it's a mixed bag. Some are supportive. Others are less so. Some have not expressed their position on nuclear.

[James Hopf @HopfJames]

Amen! Rod is telling it like it is!

[Rod Adams @Atomicrod]

UCS's Ed Lyman (@NucSafetyUCS) is wrong.

He claims, without evidence, that the NRC made a mistake by approving the construction permit for DOW's Long Mott project. His issue is that X-Energy's (@xenergynuclear) Xe-100 reactors don't have a traditional containment structure.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (@NRCgov) – staffed with thousands of reactor safety professionals and charged with protecting the public – decided that the design was safe enough to build.
He's mad that the NRC didn't kill the project by adding a consequential, unnecessary time and cost burden to the plant's construction by requiring a thick walled, steel lined, pressure tight containment.
There are several reasons why they determined the conventional structure was unnecessary .
1. Xe-100 uses a qualified TRISO design that is proven to retain fission products even at temperatures well above those that can be achieved during any credible accident scenarios.
2. Helium, which Xe-100 uses as the heat transfer fluid (reactor coolant), is inert and cannot be activated by neutrons. It is a terrible solvent – unlike hot water and steam – that cannot carry radioactive particles out of the plant in the unlikely event of fuel damage AND a leak in the coolant system.
3. Unlike the pressurized, superheated water used as a coolant in many conventional reactors, helium is always a gas and does not change phase in the event of a leak. It is never subject to the kind of immediate phase change – aka steam explosion – that was a fundamental cause of the damage at Chernobyl. The phase change from water to vapor (steam) was the driving force that led to radioactive material distribution during the 3/11/11 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
4. Xe-100 has passive reactor safety that is designed in as a result of physics and heat transfer. If the fuel temperature increases, physics ensures that the fission reaction slows and then stops. Once fissions stop, there is still a predictable quantity of heat being released by fission product decay. But Xe-100 reactors have a low power density and plenty of surface area. At their rated thermal power output of 200 MWth, there is enough surface area to transfer all of the decay heat out of the reactor core. Heat production is always decreasing as isotopes decay, and heat transfer speeds up as temperature increases. The combination leads to a predictable maximum temperature that cannot be exceeded.

The public is being adequately protected by the NRC's decision to approve the Long Mott construction permit without requiring a conventional containment structure.

Lyman and the UCS are just doing the job that their donors tell them to do – resist all nuclear projects – even the ones that safely contribute to the nation's energy security and improve the cleanliness of the environment.

Serious question for Dr. Lyman: What other power source could possibly replace the combustion fuels DOW is currently using to supply heat and electricity to its chemical plant in Seadrift, TX?
When you add ultra low emissions as a requirement, the option list narrows even more.

Final note: We all have a vested interest in avoiding unnecessary requirements that add a heavy cost and schedule burden on nuclear projects. That is ESPECIALLY true in the case of a project that has received ~$2 B of US government (taxpayer) support.

[James Hopf @HopfJames]

Article link:
https://t.co/opt2Rkw3hI

[James Hopf @HopfJames]

Amazon and (local utility) AEP are evaluating a nuclear plant project at a closed coal plant site in Sullivan County, Indiana. The nuclear plant would have twelve 80 MW Xe-100 HTGR reactors. Total output would be 960 MW. Article link in reply.

Some of the plant's power would serve an Amazon data center. The rest would go to the grid, i.e., would serve the public. Amazon will pay for its share under a long-term power purchace agreement (PPA).

Financial risks to the public will be reduced by the Amazon PPA, and the fact that this will not be a FOAK (first of a kind) project. Xe-100 projects in Texas and Washington state will precede this project.

The Xe-100 design has already been licensed by the NRC. The Texas project just got an NRC construction permit. So, the licensing process for this project will be much quicker and less expensive. The risk will be much smaller.

[James Hopf @HopfJames]

Article link:
https://t.co/7ngVNaGaI1

[James Hopf @HopfJames]

Estonia plans to build a nuclear plant. The've narrowed the sites being considered down to three sites. The plant would consist of two BWRX-300 SMRs. Article link in reply.

They expect to submit a construction permit application to the regulator in 2029. Construction planned to begin in 2031. The first of the SMRs is intended to be operational by the second half of 2035.

[James Hopf @HopfJames]

Article link:
https://t.co/D1pfCm2d40

[James Hopf @HopfJames]

Thailand is collaborating with the US to meet its goal to have an SMR in operation by 2037. They made a (proliferation) 123 Agreement with the US. The US is financing feasibility studies. Article link in reply.

The US is also financing Thai participation in the US FIRST programme for workforce and infrastructure development.

[James Hopf @HopfJames]

Article link:
https://t.co/ppQcHtGQ0U

[James Hopf @HopfJames]

The US House has passed the "Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Staff Pay Alignment Act." Article link in reply.

The act would:

Authorize a 10 percent pay increase to help the NRC retain top safety experts and compete with private sector compensation for specialized nuclear engineers and inspectors.

Rebuilds core agency capacity following recent losses of key expert personnel.

Ensures reactor deployments receive rigorous safety oversight.

[James Hopf @HopfJames]

Article link:
https://t.co/jsIIj8h5wY

[James Hopf @HopfJames]

The US House has passed the Nuclear REFUEL Act with a 397 to 2 vote. The bill would streamline licensing for nuclear fuel recycling facilities. Article link in reply.

The Act would require NRC to license U/TRU facilities (that do not separate plutonium) using the Part 70 (vs. Part 50) process. They believe it would significantly streamline the licensing process.

[James Hopf @HopfJames]

Article link:
https://t.co/dgLetktPAi

[James Hopf @HopfJames]

Now it's official. The NRC has issued a construction permit for four Xe-100 reactors at a Dow Chemical Facility in Texas. Article link in reply.

The Xe-100 is a high-temp, gas-cooled reactor (HTGR). The fuel consists of graphite pebbles containing TRISO fuel particles.

The four reactors will generate 800 MW of heat and 320 MW of electricity. The heat will be used to produce high-temp steam and electricity. The steam and most of the electricity will be used by the Dow facility. Surplus electricity will be sent to the power grid.

One thing I didn't know. The pebble-bed core allows the reactor to refuel during operation. It will not have to shut down, i.e., have refueling outages. This should result in (even) higher capacity factors. The reactor will shutdown occasionally, for certain maintenance activities.

[James Hopf @HopfJames]

Article link:
https://t.co/clPenKAWri

[James Hopf @HopfJames]

A majority of the Netherlands' parliament supports actions to accelerate the construction of SMRs. A main reason is energy secutiry. Article link in reply.

The country has had plans to build large reactors, but the siting process is taking a long time. The legislators think SMRs will take less time to build. They also apparently think that they will take less time to site as well.

[James Hopf @HopfJames]

Article link:
https://t.co/lFSpfLEqlW

[James Hopf @HopfJames]

A bill to remove Ireland's ban on nuclear power plants has been introduced in the Irish parliament. The bill has the support of the conservative party (Fianna Fáil) and the Prime Minister. Article link in reply.

[James Hopf @HopfJames]

Article link:
https://t.co/uySlm4OMud

[James Hopf @HopfJames]

China has started construction of a 660 MWe high-temperature gas-cooled reactor. It will provide electricity, and will also provide high-quality, high temp steam to a nearby petrochemical plant. Article link in relpy.