ARIES Documents
Utility Advisory Committee Reports
Minutes of the Fourth Meeting (June 22- 23, 1994, UC San Diego)
INTRODUCTION
The meeting, which was convened by the Chairman of the Utility Advisory
Committee, was in fact a combined meeting of that committee and of the EPRI
Fusion Working Group. The list of attendees is given as Appendix I.
The meeting had two clearly-defined objectives: first, provide the combined
committee membership with an up-date of the fusion program overall, the present
status of the design of ITER, a detailed review of work in the Tokamak Fusion
Power Plant Studies program including a comparison of the various designs that
had been developed throughout the duration of the project, and a review of
fusion safety issues. Second, broaden utility input to the power plant studies
program through the much-expanded utility representation that was present at
the meeting. This helped to refine further a paradigm that had been developed
and reviewed following input received at earlier meetings. The meeting agenda
is provided as Appendix II.
REVIEW OF PREVIOUS INTERACTION AND ADVICE
Dean Robert W. Conn reviewed the charge to the Fusion Power Plant
Studies Program Utility Advisory Committee and summarized the progress that had
been made during, and subsequently as a result of, each of the previous
meetings.
The intent had been to develop a paradigm that would embody those beneficial
elements of fusion that would result in the most persuasive case that a CEO or
VP might present to the Board of Directors of an electric utility when
requesting that they invest in fusion power plants. The elements of this
paradigm are:
- Cost advantage over other available central station options.
- Licensing is easy.
- No need for evacuation plan.
- Produces no high-level waste.
- Reliable, available, and stable as an electrical power source.
- No local or global atmospheric impact.
- Fuel cycle is closed on-site.
- Fuel availability is high.
- Capable of load following.
- Available in a range of unit sizes.
In developing the paradigm, a number of fundamental assumptions had been made.
Several of these issues were revisited during the discussion that ensued.
Optimum Size of Fusion Power Plant
An item that had been of concern related to the size of fusion power plant that
would be of interest to a utility. However, the nature of future typical
utilities as distributors or as plant owners/operators had been difficult to
define, and the required size of base-load plants and the anticipated mix of
energy sources had emerged as items that were to a large extent specific to a
particular utility. Different utilities held widely differing viewpoints, and
it had not been possible to arrive at consensus. The point was made, however,
that while the actual size of a new plant may vary from utility to utility, the
size selected by each utility was likely to result in an increment that was a
few percent of its total grid availability: too much risk was involved in
adding large increments of capacity. Hence, a broad a range of sizes will
increase the potential customer base.
Cost Advantage Required of a Fusion Power Plant
At previous meetings, it had been stated that fusion must offer a clear cost
advantage over other forms of central plant if it were to be accepted. It had
been assumed that this advantage should be of the order of 10-to-20% or
utilities would opt to stay with the lowest-cost incumbent technology because
of a high comfort factor with it. The methodology by which the 10-to-20 percent
figure had been arrived at was questioned. The point was made that while an
advantage of 10-to-20 percent might be appropriate for relatively inexpensive
plant, because of the vast number of dollars involved in a fusion plant, a much
smaller cost advantage could be acceptable, A 20% cost advantage for plant
costing $10 million would yield a savings of $2 million: A 2% cost advantage
for plant costing $10 billion would yield a savings of $200 million. The
magnitude of the commitment was important; the actual savings were the real
concern, not just a percentage figure. It was agreed that fusion should show a
"clear cost advantage" however it might be arrived at.
Cost of a DEMO Plant
The assumption had been made that the DEMO could be up to 20% more expensive
than other power generating options provided that a pathway could be identified
to a commercial system that would have a clear cost advantage. The numbers were
challenged as being unrealistic, the consensus being that the increased cost
prediction of 20% for DEMO was unnecessarily low. It was generally agreed that
the cost prediction was too severe for a demonstration unit and that a softer
approach should be used. The paradigm should not be viewed as a business plan;
that should come later. The case for the Board of Directors should not contain
a hard number and would still be satisfactory without one.
However, a contrary minority view that was consistent with sentiments expressed
at earlier meetings persisted, the contention being that a business plan with
firm numbers indicating an increased cost of not more than 20% would be
required by a Board of Directors before approval was given to proceed with
DEMO.
DEMO Construction Consortium
The cost assumption for the construction of DEMO was that the U.S. government
would pay for part of the cost, and that the utilities and industry would pay
the rest. While the advantage that would accrue to the utility that accepted
the facility within its grid was clear, the advantages that would accrue to the
other members of the consortium were questioned. The ability to influence
design decisions through participation in the project was viewed as being
important, but was overshadowed by the perceived advantage of ownership of the
technology.
Licensing
As in previous meetings, the issue of licensing led to much discussion. The
importance of avoidance of the requirement for the design-basis-accident was
reviewed since such an accident would be innocuous for fusion, eliminating the
need for an evacuation plan. The question of whether or not the word
"licensing" should be used at all was debated, particularly with respect to
ITER which could possibly be constructed on a DOE site. The desirability of
using the word "permitting" instead was explored. It was pointed out that
whereas the U.S.DOE itself regulates DOE facilities today, in five years time
it might not. The use of materials, such as tritium, that result in the
production of ionizing radiation is regulated by the NRC and is what requires
licensing. There are 10,000 Curies of radioactivity in every gram of tritium.
ITER will contain approximately 1 Kg of tritium. Hence regulation will
definitely be necessary. Whereas the fusion community will not be able to argue
for the dismissal of licensing issues, it could possibly bring favorable
influence to bear upon the licensing process. This should be an important goal
for the community.
Disposal of Waste Material
It was emphasized that whatever wastes are likely to be generated by the fusion
process, one should make sure that regulations for their disposal exist before
embarking on the design and construction of plant. The generation of mixed
waste is highly undesirable since no one knows how to dispose of it. No agency
has a policy, and regulations for mixed waste disposal do not exist. If mixed
waste cannot be avoided, then it will be necessary to develop the regulations
for its disposal.
Plant Shut-Down
An important advantage for fusion power plants emerged from the fact that a
fusion power plant will only need to be shut down for regular maintenance (i.e.
not for refueling). Such a plant will not require fuel shipments except that
for first start-up and need never be shut down for re-fueling. In comparison,
fission plants incur substantial downtime (45 or more days) at relatively
frequent (18 month) intervals. Since a fusion plant will not need re-fueling,
it could be operated continuously for five or more years. This is a feature
that would fascinate the Board of Directors of a utility. It would, however,
then be necessary to look at the maintenance characteristics of the balance of
the plant. Turbines and their control valves, for example, need maintenance
after 18 months-to-two years of operation. Thus there may be a need for
duplication of peripheral equipment in order to take advantage of a fusion
generator's long, continuous power production run. The duplication of
peripheral equipment would be costly, but this disadvantage would be off-set if
the operating span between successive shut-downs was long enough, if the
blanket of the fusion generator could be replaced at reasonable cost, and if
the overall fusion generating plant would last and operate for forty years or
so. The plant duplication decision process would inevitably involve trade-offs
between requirements as the optimum combination of desirable features was
sought.
REVIEW OF EPRI FUSION WORKING GROUP ACTIVITIES
Dr. Jack Kaslow, Chairman of the EPRI Fusion Working Group, described
the activities of the group, which comprised twelve persons. He emphasized that
the group possessed a great deal of utility experience but lacked fusion
experience. The group had therefore needed educating in fusion technology, had
liked what they had been exposed to, and were happy to have the fusion program
continue. The group considered that the fusion program overall was well
structured, and concurred that ITER was the next logical step towards fusion
power. The EPRI Group see themselves as a resource to the fusion community that
is able to describe the fusion power plants that utilities would have most
interest in.
Fusion power plants must meet three principal criteria: economics, public
acceptance, and licensing simplicity.
Economics
Economics was especially important and fusion plants must be less expensive
than those based on competing technologies. However, it was the total
life-cycle cost that was important rather than the cost of the initial plant.
Plant size and flexibility was also important. Fusion plants should be able to
operate from the low hundreds of megawatts up to gigawatts, and fusion plants
should have low acreage requirements. Construction should be simple and of
short duration, the plant should be highly reliable, and should provide low
fuel cycle costs. The power plant should offer high availability, and should
require low numbers of operators to run it. It should certainly require no more
operating sophistication than competitive plants.
Fusion plants should offer long operating life. End of life needs to be
determined based upon engineering parameters rather than be dictated by some
arbitrary accounting formula as is common with fission plants. When the life of
a fusion plant is over, end-of-life costs should be minimized. Any additional
distribution costs that might be due to fusion power generation must be
understood and, better still, avoided.
Validation of performance at the pilot plant stage, to permit subsequent
scale-up to commercial power plants, would be essential, thus to aid in
building the case needed to finance the first-of-a-kind commercial unit.
Public Acceptance
The fusion community needs to educate the public in the advantages provided by
fusion power. The environmental attractiveness and safety of the technology
should be maximized, and lower power generating costs should be emphasized.
Waste heat from fusion power plants should be minimized. The fusion community
should monitor the growing conflict between environmentalists and free-market
forces in electric power generation since the outcome could affect fusion plant
design.
Safety is critically important. It is essential that the case made for fusion
safety be credible. The building of this case should not be left to fusion
experts: The public must be involved from the outset and it is essential that
the early public experiences with fusion be positive. The use of existing
terminology that has negative safety connotations not applicable or relevant to
fusion must be avoided. The community's habit of drawing upon words from
fission's lexicon must cease. The community should recognize that renewables
might well be the benchmark against which fusion will be judged. Economics will
influence public acceptance and the positive impact of fusion on U.S. global
competitiveness should be emphasized.
Regulatory Simplicity
Regulations are based upon the need to protect the public. The level and
severity of the regulations applied to fusion will be influenced by public
acceptance of the technology. Plant and system design will also influence the
regulations. There might be a minimum need for engineered safety features,
waste generation might be minimized, and so on. The EPRI Fusion Working Group
had not given rankings to desirable engineering features since the
incorporation of each feature would involve a trade-off that would need very
careful evaluation within the context of the final design.
FUSION ENERGY PROGRAM UPDATE
Dr. N. Anne Davies, Associate Director for Fusion Energy, briefed the committee
on the U.S. fusion program and outlined the strategy that would be pursued up
to the construction and operation of DEMO. The U.S. does not have a stand-alone
fusion program today, and relies significantly upon the world-wide effort, to
which it also contributes significantly.
ITER and DEMO
At present, no major fusion device is being planned between ITER and DEMO.
While it is possible that DEMO could be an international project, currently
each of the four parties is contemplating building its own DEMO. If DEMO should
become an international project, then commercial interests and governmental and
political issues will need to be dealt with, in addition to technological
issues. The licensing issues would also be more complex. Hence the parties were
still thinking of building DEMO's separately. ITER is being designed such that
it can be regulated by every Party. However, the issue of decoupling ITER
regulation issues from those of DEMO would be made easier in the U.S. if ITER
were to be constructed overseas. The contrary view was expressed, viz. that
wherever ITER was sited, U.S. regulators would sieze upon it as representing
the best precedent upon which to base fusion plant regulations. It would
therefore be better to construct ITER in the U.S. where the process could be
influenced by U.S. power producers.*
The advisability of building more than one DEMO was explored. It was suggested
that since a wide variety of new technologies would need to be incorporated
into DEMO, a DEMO would be more expensive than ITER. The question was raised
that if the World had elected to collaborate on the design and construction of
ITER because of its high cost, then why would each of the parties elect to
design and build its own more-expensive DEMO? A better approach would be for
each party to construct its own ITER and then down-select technologies to
complete one international DEMO. The answer was that DEMO's will be smaller
than ITER, and less expensive. ITER is intended to undertake a great deal of
experimental testing, and the added flexibility incorporated into the machine
to facilitate this is adding to its cost. In addition, due to as-yet unresolved
uncertainties in fusion technology, ITER is being conservatively designed to
compensate.
DEMO is intended to generate electrical power. As part of the DEMO program,
therefore, issues concerning the balance-of-plant will have to be dealt with.
The question of whether such plant would be experimental was raised. It was
thought that some of the plant would be conventional in nature, and that ITER
would have eliminated certain of the remaining uncertainties. However, if one
was perhaps prepared to accept some loss in generating efficiency by operating
a fusion plant at conventional temperatures, then regular balance-of-plant
could be used.
The issue of sharing and transfer of technology was raised, concern being
expressed that the party that provided the site for ITER would gain a
technological advantage over the others. It was not clear exactly what
advantages, if any, the host nation might expect, As a result. the U.S. was
undertaking a detailed review of the matter.
Congressional Activity
The Johnston Bill, the "International Fusion Energy Act of 1993", stipulates
that the U.S. fusion program should focus on ITER and DEMO, that the U.S. must
establish the Office of ITER Negotiator, and that the DOE select a U.S.
candidate site for ITER. If ITER activities were to cease, then the U.S. fusion
program would be reduced to $50 million per year.
House Science, Space and Technology Committee Chairman Brown's Fusion Bill, the
"Fusion Energy Authorization Act of 1994", contains major ITER provisions and
calls for an accelerated commitment to U.S. participation in ITER, for
selection of the host country for siting of the facility by October 1995 and,
if the U.S. is to host, for selection of the U.S. site by June 1996. The bill
calls for a substantial U.S. industry and utility role in ITER. It also
supports research on alternative fusion concepts, with authorized funding of
$380 million in FY95, including $26 million for alternative concepts,
increasing to $475 million in FY97 with $31 million for alternative concepts.
In this respect, EPRI's support of deuterated metals (cold fusion) research was
of interest. It was explained that this interest arose solely out of curiosity.
The members of EPRI do not think that fusion is taking place, but would like to
find out exactly what is occurring. Hence the organization is supporting a
modest program of research in the field.
ITER DESIGN UPDATE
Dr. Charles C. Baker, U.S. ITER Home Team Leader, summarized the history and
organizational set-up of the ITER project, the objective of which is to
demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion as a power
source. In particular, ITER will demonstrate controlled ignition and plasma
burn, will demonstrate the suitability of technologies essential to fusion
power generators, and will perform integrated testing of high heat-flux and
nuclear components. Steady-state operation on ITER is also a goal.
The ITER program can be modified, but not unilaterally. A credit system has
been established to control the project, within which design tasks, development
tasks and research tasks are undertaken. The various tasks are described in
documents which each of the Parties must adhere to and deliver against.
The need for each party to design and construct its own DEMO arose because of
international disagreement over what it should be and how it should operate.
Hence, a single demonstration power unit constructed as an international
project might be unsuitable to the U.S. It was thus better for each of the
Parties to develop its own DEMO. Further, the other three Parties have
different time-frames to that of the U.S. for commercialization of fusion
technology. Some consider that the ITER mission should not be burdened with
DEMO or first-of-a-kind fusion plant requirements at all. Their viewpoint is
that no one really knows how well fusion power generation is likely to work,
that it would be better to prove feasibility first, and then proceed to
commercialization. Elsewhere within the Parties there is less pressure than in
the U.S. to complete the project quickly, due to the different political and
economic climates that exist. The U.S. fusion community has the problem of
rationalizing the fusion program in the U.S.A. to obtain continuing funding for
it. The ITER Technical Objectives Chart, shown in Table 1, represents a
compromise reached between the four Parties.
Reliability issues need to be explored since no tokamak capable of extended
operation has ever been constructed. ITER will be the first, and the provision
of the capability to operate continuously for three-to-six days will be used to
provide answers to reliability concerns. Materials and components that are
known to be reliable in conventional environments might not be so when used
inside a tokamak. Such components will be exposed to the plasma, to high
temperature, to neutron bombardment, and to high magnetic fields,
simultaneously.
Table 1
ITER Technical Objectives
- Operating mode:-controlled ignition at extended burns (steady-state as an
ultimate goal)
- Pulse length-1000 seconds (flat top)
- Average neutron-about 1 MW/m2wall loading
- Neutron fluence-at least 1 MW a/m2
-up to 3 MW a/m2
- Auxiliary heating-achieve ignition system(non-inductive current drive
capability)
- Continuous testing-three to six day periods
Given the present physics state-of-the-art on non-inductive current drive in
tokamaks, the amount of current-drive electrical power needed to drive the full
plasma current in ITER would be prohibitively large. Therefore, current-drive
scenarios in ITER must assume improved physics (as might be demonstrated in
TPX) and/or operation at reduced levels of plasma current.
The parameters to which ITER is being designed are given in Table 2.
Table 2
ITER Machine Parameters
Major radius - 8.10 m
Minor radius - 3.00 m
Plasma elongation - 1.55
Toroidal magnetic field - 5.7 T (on axis)
Plasma current - 24 MA
Nominal fusion power - 1500 MW
Pulse repetition cycle - 2200 sec
Auxiliary heating power - 50 MW
ITER is large and costly. Commercial power producing tokamaks will be smaller
and less expensive, unless the licensing process is hostile. A hostile
licensing environment will drive up the cost of fusion plant and adversely
affect economics. ITER will be constructed from steel, and should be subject to
one set of regulations. Subsequent tokamaks will be made from low-activation
materials and should therefore be subject to a less severe set of
requirements.
ITER will use superconducting magnets, operated at 4.2oK. Much care
is being expended in the design of the blanket and shield to ensure that these
components can be readily maintained and replaced.
Although the official site requirements for ITER have not yet been released,
Table 3 lists what some of the parameters are likely to be.
Table 3
Tentative ITER Site Requirements
* Land area ~ 100 acres
* Electrical reactive power 1000 MVA (nominal)
* Thermal cooling ~ 2000 MW
* Exclusion radius ~ 1 km
* Transportation Barge access
Cooling water will be an issue, but electrical power requirements will pose an
even bigger problem which arises due to ITER's intermittent mode of operation.
The problem will not exist with a commercial power plant since commercial
plants will operate continuously. If a site for ITER is to be selected in the
U.S., the fusion program will probably first look at DOE sites, and then
federal sites, before considering "green field" sites.
FUSION PLANT CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
Mr. Steve Rosen summed up initial reactions to the presentations on behalf of
the committee members. A leap in technological development is still required
before a fusion plant will generate electricity. A much larger gulf exists
between ITER and the first commercial power plant than had originally been
thought. Under the circumstances, one should not try to design ITER to be as
close as possible to the first-of-a-kind commercial generator.
The siting of ITER gave rise to concerns, in particular because of the large
power requirements. The sheer size of ITER, and the tremendous forces that its
operation would involve, were also of concern. The issue of remote handling,
including weld cutting, re-welding and inspection, will lead via regulation to
remote inspection as well, and would give rise to significant maintenance and
inspection problems. Finally, industrial safety aspects and nuclear safety
aspects are both of major importance and need much more attention.
OVERVIEW OF ARIES AND PULSAR TOKAMAK FUSION PLANT STUDIES
Dr. Farrokh Najmabadi presented a summary of the ARIES and PULSAR studies, and
started by contrasting the ease of access and maintenance envisioned for
commercial power plants with the relatively difficult situation that would face
ITER. The safety of commercial plant would also be enhanced to the point where
the first indication of the most damaging accident, that involving total loss
of coolant, would be shut-down of the fusion reaction itself. Very little
impurity is needed in the plasma to stop the reaction. In fact, a totally
passive engineering concept could be incorporated in the tokamak to control the
temperature at which the reaction is extinguished through use of a coupon of
material that would volatilize at the desired temperature.
There are four ARIES tokamak plant designs. ARIES-I is based on modest
extrapolations in physics and on technology which has a 5-to-20 year
development horizon. ARIES-III is an advanced fuel (D-3He) tokamak
plant, while ARIES-II/IV are based on more aggressive extrapolations in physics
involving, for example, operation in the second stability regime. Although on
the face of it the D-3He system might appear the most attractive, in
reality it is preferable to pursue the development of SiC/SiC low-activation
composite materials for use with the D-T fueling system. The SiC option would
yield a reduction in activation amounting to six orders of magnitude. While the
D-3He system will provide a factor of 10 reduction in activation
over the D-T system for the same materials, this is not sufficient. Therefore,
low-activation material should also be used in a D-3He power plant.
However, the D-3He system has important drawbacks. First,
3He is an isotope of helium that does not occur naturally on earth.
Hence, supply is a problem. Second, although the D-3He fusion
reactions generate protons rather than neutrons, D-D reactions will also occur
and these will generate neutrons and small quantities of tritium. Thus, D-T
reactions will also occur. Since the generation of neutrons cannot be avoided,
it will not be possible to construct a radioactive-free D-3He fusion
generator using stainless steel. Furthermore, no breeding blanket will be used
with a D-3He fueling system. Hence every neutron will result in the
generation of radioactivity. In a D-T fueled tokamak, 90% or more of the
neutrons are absorbed in the blanket and regenerate tritium, leaving only 10%
or fewer available to cause activation. A proposed advanced fuel cycle based
upon p-11B simply is unsuitable for the generation of fusion power
since a Q greater than unity will never be achieved, leading to a net
consumption of power by the reaction.
The objectives of the PULSAR program are to study the feasibility and potential
features of a tokamak fusion power plant that would utilize a pulsed mode of
plasma operation yet provide steady electrical output. Pulsed plasma operation
involves the resolution of many critical issues, including those of large and
expensive power supplies for the PF system, thermal energy storage, reliable
magnet design to combat cyclic fatigue and rapid PF ramp rates, fatigue in the
first wall, blanket, shield and divertor, and reliability of complex components
under cyclic operation. The operating cycle is summarized in a PULSAR event
line. During the plasma burn, coolant passes through the blanket and the shield
heats up. During the dwell in-between pulses, the coolant passes through the
shield. The change of temperature within the blanket is relatively small,
whereas the shield cycles over a 300oC range. The blanket absorbs
approximately 95% of the neutrons generated by the reaction; the shield absorbs
approximately 5%. It is the heat that is built up in the shield that maintains
the electrical power output during the dwell time. The net result is steady
electrical output from the fusion generator. Although a dwell time of thirty
seconds would be preferred, such a short dwell is not practical, a dwell time
of about three minutes being minimum.
The reliability of the start up after a dwell must be improved. Current
experience projects one failure in every 300 attempts to start the reaction.
This must improve to 1 in 3000 in order to meet the utilities' goal of no more
than one failure to start up per year. Such an improvement can be achieved, but
at a price, by building in redundancy, adding sensors and employing
sophisticated automatic controls. The alternative of utilizing day-long pulses
has also been investigated, in which case one failure in 300 would equate
roughly to one failure to start per year. However, the cost of such a system
would be almost twice that of the proposed advanced steady-state machines. But,
if advanced steady-state machines do not meet expectations and cannot be
operated at high bootstrap fraction, thus requiring significant external power
to keep them operating, their costs would be increased considerably and pulsed
machines might become economically attractive.
When a fission unit trips out of service for whatever reason, it takes a long
time to get it back on line due to the plethora of mandatory safety checks that
must be carried out. Hence it is essential that fusion units not have to
conform to the same regulations as fission plant. There is absolutely no need
to undertake a series of extensive safety checks simply due to the inability of
a pulsed fusion plant to-refire.
FUSION SAFETY
Dr. Glen R. Longhurst, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, presented a
review of fusion safety-standard development activities. A task to develop a
Fusion Safety Standard has been initiated by DOE at INEL with input from other
institutions. The development is being overseen by a multi-agency steering
committee, the objective being to produce a self-sufficient guide to achieving
safety in fusion facilities while avoiding unnecessary encumbrances from
fission. The program should result in a document that will be useful for
ITER.
The steering committee presently comprises persons who each have a vested
interest in fusion. It was suggested that committee membership be broadened to
include potential future adversaries and to include such persons in consensus
decisions.
Of major concern is an accident involving destruction of a fusion plant. Here,
the effect of radioactivity is paramount. Radiation is not the only hazard, but
it is the one that dominates public perception. For example, the perceived risk
from fission is over 1000 times the actual risk! Radioactive material, for
example tritium or neutron-induced activation products in structural materials,
may be released from a fusion power plant in an accident. A measure of the
consequence of an accident in a fusion plant is the dose received by someone at
the site boundary or by someone working at the plant itself.
Waste issues are also important but are more difficult to quantify. Different
measures need to be taken when disposing of different kinds of waste.
Non-hazardous wastes require mainly space for disposal. Low-level wastes may be
disposed of by shallow land burial. High-level wastes require deep geological
burial. One measure of waste significance, the waste disposal rating, is the
amount of mixing with threshold level material needed to reduce a waste hazard
to acceptable levels.
The original direction taken in the task to develop a fusion safety standard
was towards the generation of a stand-alone DOE Order. But a review of existing
Rules, Orders, and Standards indicated that a different direction was more
appropriate. The requirements in existing directives need clarification and a
risk-based approach. Experience indicates that the approval time for an Order
would be too long to permit timely application to ITER. The approach to fusion
safety guidance that was selected therefore involves the development of a
Limited Technical Standard, since such should be achieved in a less difficult
and more timely manner than an Order, will provide greater flexibility than an
Order, yet ultimately could lead to the development of an Order. The guidance
that will be provided by the Limited Technical Standard will ensure a high
level of safety of fusion test facilities for workers, the public, and the
environment.
The process for preparing a standard is non-trivial. It involves a review of
existing requirements, a determination of the need for additional requirements,
and a formulation of the manner in which to implement a graded approach to risk
that employs Probability Safety Analysis (PSA). The ten top-ranked risks or so
are important and must be taken into account while developing the Standard.
Taking account of the remaining risks will add little or nothing to safety;
they should not be included. Many things have safety or risk implications but
some risks are so small that they must be ignored. There is a threshold below
which the risk should be ignored, and above which it is necessary to undertake
a PSA.
The expectation is that an Environmental Impact Statement will be required if
the U.S. government is involved in the construction of ITER, even if ITER is
constructed outside of the U.S.
UTILITY'S FUSION PLANT PLANNING PROCESS
A review of projected demand versus capacity indicates when additional capacity
will be required by the utility. A review of the available options will
determine what type of capacity will be added. Eventually, fusion will be one
of those options. The utility will establish a task force that will undertake a
thorough analysis of a fusion plant. At the outset, the task force will compile
a list of questions that must be answered before a case to add a fusion plant
can be made, These include a site review and the determination of the layout of
the major components. Plant arrangement, transmission corridors, maintenance
access, cranes, rail/barge access, roads, the availability of cooling water,
land requirements and environmental impact are all important factors. Next, the
task force will undertake a systems review. The task force will need to
understand the design philosophy; it is important to know how the design
evolved and why it is configured the way it is, to obtain a description of the
major system features, and to follow the historical evolution of specific
issues. Design basis documentation will be needed early on in the process.
A review of the system level design basis is also most important; this will
include the process flow diagram with its flows, pressures and temperatures,
and the system logic diagrams with its interlocks and permissives. Safety
functions, normal operating functions, performance requirements, regulatory
requirements and guidance, and system interfaces will all receive scrutiny.
A component level design basis review will be undertaken in great detail. The
design, type and frequency of usage of components are all important. Finally,
the licensing process will be studied; it is important to know what regulatory
commitments have been made. The safety sequence analysis is most important. It
is what drives the questions, all of which relate to technical issues.
Before even getting to the technical, regulatory, operational and system
planning issues discussed above, a utility will already have investigated in
detail, and dealt with, the management, financial, and legal issues involved.
MANPOWER REQUIREMENTS
Concern was expressed over the future availability of personnel with
appropriate skills to operate fusion plants, both at the engineering level and
at the maintenance level. Even though the universities are educating but a
small number of persons in fusion at present, nevertheless these are still too
many for the on-going fusion program to absorb, and many valuable persons are
being lost to fusion and are finding employment in other fields. There will
therefore be an acute shortage of trained personnel unless this matter is
addressed. Increased education in fusion needs to be incorporated in the
forward strategic plan for fusion.
NEXT MEETING
The following topics, presented by experts from within the fusion program, will
be included for discussion at the next meeting:
- The essential characteristics of DEMO.
- The site characteristics for a fusion power plant.
- The detailed temporal power requirements for ITER.
- Issues of remote handling, remote welding and remote inspection of a
fusion power plant.
- Previous experiences with "novel" electricity generating plant
(presented by Dr. Lawrence Papay).
It was suggested that the committee consider continuing with meetings extending
over a day-and-a-half, and that the meetings be held alternately at East Coast
and West Coast sites. It was agreed that high-level representation from DOE be
present at each meeting to provide members with political and program
management up-dates.
Appendix I: Meeting Attendees
Name, Affiliation, Telephone Number
Steve Rosen, Chair Houston Lighting and Power 512/972-7138
Charles Baker ITER-UC San Diego 619/534-6207
Merwin Brown PG&E 510/866-5560
Troy Carter General Atomics (student) 619/455-4157
Bob Conn UC San Diego 619/534-6237
Anne Davies DOE/OFE 301/903-4941
Terry Davies ITER-UCLA/UC San Diego 619/534-9830
William Dove DOE/OFE 301/903-4598
Davis Ehst Argonne National Laboratory 708/252-4829
Bill Ellis Raytheon Engr. and Constr. 212/839-3398
Chris Hamilton General Atomics 619/455-3364
Steve Herring INEL 208/526-9497
Jack Kaslow EPRI 603/894-6345
Glen Longhurst INEL 208/526-9950
John McCann Consolidated Edison of New York 914/734-5159
Dan Mears Technology Insights 619/455-9080
Bill Muston Texas Utilities 214/812-8407
Farrokh Najmabadi UCLA/UC San Diego 310/825-5435
David Overskei General Atomics 619/455-2490
Larry Papay Bechtel 415/768-0275
Marshall Rosenbluth UC San Diego 619/534-3790
Glenn T. Sager General Atomics 619/455-2543
Tom Schneider EPRI 415/855-2402
Pete Skrgic Allegheny Power System 212/836-4320
Bruce A. Snow Rochester Gas and Electric 716/724-8058
Mark Tillack UCLA/UC San Diego 310/206-1230
Clement Wong General Atomics 619/455-4258
Appendix II: Agenda
June 22, 1994
1:00 PM Welcome Robert W. Conn, UC San Diego
a) Review of FPPSUAC Work Robert W. Conn, UC San Diego
b) Review of EPRI Fusion Working Jack Kaslow, EPRI Group Work
3:15 PM Fusion Update Anne Davies, DOE/OFE
4:30 PM ITER Design Update Charlie Baker, ITER HT
June 23, 1994
9:00 AM Fusion Plant Conceptual Design Steve Rosen, HL&P
10:15 AM Overview of ARIES and PULSAR Farrokh Najmabadi,
Tokamak Fusion Plant Studies UCLA/UC San Diego
11:30 AM Conceptual Commercial Plant ARIES Team
Layout and Key Systems Descriptions
1:30 PM Definitions and Operating FPPSUAC
Criteria for the DEMO
2:30 PM Fusion Safety Glen Longhurst, INEL
3:30 PM Discussion and Future Plans
Top of the page.
|