§16272 Reactor Concepts Research, Development, Demonstration, and Commercial Application

Summary

The Secretary must run several research and development programs to support nuclear power. One program must help existing light-water reactors get safer, more reliable, more efficient, and cheaper to run. It must cover things like reliability, capacity, aging parts, safety, security and security costs, life of the plant, operations and maintenance costs, flexible operation, integrated energy uses, efficiency, environmental effects, and resilience. Not later than 1 year after August 9, 2022, the Secretary must study whether to create a subprogram to test making important radioactive and stable isotopes at commercial reactors and may start that subprogram if it is feasible. The Secretary must consult with the Office of Science on that study. The Secretary must send an annual public report to the House Science Committee and the Senate Energy Committee showing how program money was spent, what was done, and what was awarded to private groups. There is $55,000,000 authorized for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025 for this program. The Secretary must also run a program for advanced reactor technologies and set priorities for designs that are passively safe and resistant to proliferation. These designs should be competitive, more efficient, produce less waste per output, use better instrumentation, and improve resilience, safety, and costs compared to reactors as of December 27, 2020. The Secretary must work with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the National Nuclear Security Administration, support work on extreme materials and fuels, modeling and simulation, sensors and control systems, waste management, research facilities, advanced manufacturing, and safety planning, and form an advisory committee that reports annually to Congress. That program is also authorized $55,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025. The Secretary must run a separate program to develop nuclear integrated energy systems (at least one nuclear subsystem plus others) to cut greenhouse gases and boost efficiency. That program must coordinate with DOE offices, National Laboratories, universities, and the private sector and may cover desalination, hydrogen and fuel production, industrial heat, district heating, storage, carbon capture, microgrids, modeling, and integrating with existing infrastructure. Funding authorized for that program is $20,000,000 for 2021, $30,000,000 for 2022, $30,000,000 for 2023, $40,000,000 for 2024, and $40,000,000 for 2025. Defined term: critical radioactive and stable isotope — the term as defined in section 18649(a).