After contractors proposed that the Department of Energy alone oversee construction of reactors at a federal site, a DOE official on Monday sought to clarify that the agency does not plan an end run around regulatory bodies in developing small modular reactors
In a speech at the Platts Nuclear Energy Conference Friday, DOE deputy assistant secretary for nuclear reactor technologies John Kelly said DOE is not qualified to certify commercial reactors and does not support commercial reactors that are not licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
More specifically, he told a Platts reporter in an interview that, while DOE can regulate reactors for testing purposes, it would be impossible to build a commercial reactor at the South Carolina Savannah River National Laboratory without an NRC license.
Kelly’s statement follows the disclosure last month of memoranda of understanding among Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, GE Hitachi and Hyperion Power Generation obtained by anti-nuclear environmental group Friends of the Earth. The documents indicate SNRS explored the possibility of building prototype reactors at Savanna River with DOE regulating their design, construction and operation.
In a Platts interview last year, an SRNS manager said his company proposed building 10 to 15 small reactors of varying designs. Because they would provide power only to the Savannah River site, they would qualify for DOE oversight, which potentially could expedite licensing and commercial deployment.
On Friday, DOE’s Kelly indicated he did not think such a plan was a possibility.