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Prerequisites for...
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The situation is totally different in
one case than in the other because for
non-regulated utilities, if you don’t have
the money to construct the plant, you
can’t do it. In a regulated market, you
have limitations with the profits you get
with the plant. So these are two different
philosophies, I think both are valid but it
is more difficult nowadays to construct
units in non-regulated markets because
of the risks associated to an investment
over many years. In a regulated market,
you can charge construction costs to the
consumer with certainty and visibility on
tariffs in the long run.
4. Which country has the best model of
fuel reprocessing and fi nal disposal?
Can this model be adopted by other
countries?
I don’t like to use the word model,
but the word reference. I think for spent
fuel, the world reference is Finland.
Finland has advanced significantly in
developing in its underground repository
in Olkiluoto for spent fuel and I think the
Finnish are the most advanced country.
I think this is a very clear reference.
Regarding fuel reprocessing, I think
France is the reference. They have very
good reprocessing capacities and they
are doing that for France and for other
countries. They are reducing significantly
waste volume and toxicity because they
use the spent fuel to create more fuel.
Finally they have a high-level waste
research centre (laboratory) which is
going to be in an underground repository
in France. They are very advanced trying
to select a final site and develop the
project.
5. What is the current direction
undertaken by the global nuclear power
industry to replace or to supplement
the International Uranium Enrichment
Center (IUEC) initiative or the Global
Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP)
programs which will help the enrichment
services’ recipient countries? How will
this program discourage “new nuclear
power countries” to enrich the fuel thus
alleviating proliferation concerns?
NEA welcomes any initiative which
gives the guarantee of fuel supply to any
country that wants to use nuclear power
and the extension of this guarantee to
enrichment or recycling is welcome. I
think these guarantees are important so
that countries can always have access to
enough fuel. What is important is to make
sure this is done in a reliable manner.
There are several initiatives. I think that
all those initiatives are very welcome but
they have to be realistic and to respond to
specific needs of each country. And I think
the idea of having a fuel bank in Vienna is
going in the right direction. This will take
some time and this is well articulated.
You mentioned GNEP in the United
States, but GNEP is now being reviewed
or revised by the Obama administration.
Logically GNEP is going to be affected by
the domestic developments in the United
States. But the concept of fuel banks, fuel
guarantees, and the international center is
on the table and I think it’s going in the
right direction.
A fuel bank is a bank where fuel
is held in reserves and it’s controlled.
An international center is more a center
where you develop the fuel, which
implies possessing the technology. The
center won’t be only for storing fuel, it
will be more for fabricating the fuel,
enrichment and fuel fabrication. An
international center is developing all the
steps necessary to manage fuel. For the
fuel bank, the IAEA gives the guarantees.
Regarding international centers, there are
proposals for several locations including,
Russia, United States, and France.
6. Nuclear Energy Agency deals with
Nuclear Safety and Regulation. How does
Nuclear Energy Agency interact with
World Association of Nuclear Operators
and with individual country’s Regulatory
Agency to ensure that there is no overlap
and to ensure that the utility, which is the
fi nal benefi ciary of the efforts has access
to good shared technical information and
guidance which it can rely on?
We are a tool of governments so our
objective is to work in the areas where
governments are responsible for. We
have good relations with WANO. They
respond to the needs of the industry, we
respond to the needs of our governments.
Regarding the IAEA, the NEA is a tool
of industrialized countries and we try
to be always in the front line of new
development which requires high level
specialists working in small groups.
We provide state-of-the-art reports
and analyses. This is according to our
agreement with the IAEA so that they
can utilize that with all their member
countries and incorporate many of our
findings in their standards. So let’s say we
are the vanguard of the IAEA in the areas
of nuclear economics, technology and
regulation. But we transfer the outcomes
of our work to IAEA to be introduced
universally.
7. Which organizations in the United
States interact with Nuclear Energy
Agency?
For the United States, the
department that we are responsible to
is the Department of State. There are
two additional institutions in the US
government we are working with: the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, they
are possibly the agency in the world the
most engaged in our work regarding
the effective regulation of the industry.
The other is the Department of Energy
regarding anything related to technology
development, fuel cycle and economics.
So both NRC and DOE are strong pillars
and support the NEA activities.
8. Concluding remark.
Nuclear is going to be much more
important in the future because of
energy security concerns and the fight
against climate change. But two things
are paramount. One is to develop the
manufacturing capacity, which has
disappeared in some countries. We
have to revive this capacity to make
nuclear possible. And second, we have
to develop the human resources. We
need engineers, scientists and technical
people in many fields. Nuclear power
needs to attract the young generation, and
to make them available to the different
markets and projects. The human factor
is essential. Nuclear power is not about
burning uranium, it’s about science and
technology.
Contact: Serge Gas, OECD Nuclear
Energy Agency, telephone: 33 1 45 24
1010, fax: 33 1 45 24 11 10, email: serge.
gas@oecd.org.
24 www.NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, May-June 2010