In this issue:
AFTER FUKUSHIMA, ASME TASK FORCE CHALLENGES NUCLEAR INDUSTRY
In the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated coastal regions of northern Japan and the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, an ASME task force of nuclear experts is calling for a new nuclear safety construct to go beyond current safety planning to prevent extensive societal disruption caused by radioactive releases from accidents. Further reducing the potential for socio-political and economic consequences will be critical for the public's acceptance of nuclear energy as a baseload power source. Public trust and confidence are essential if nuclear power is to achieve and sustain social and political acceptance, say task force leaders.
After the accident in northern Japan, the surrounding area suffered radiological contamination that resulted in the relocation of more than 100,000 people. Economic losses cascaded through the Japanese and global economies as Japan shut down all of its nuclear generating stations. Around the world, governments began to reconsider nuclear energy's future, with Germany also planning to shut down its reactors.
Those developments prompted the formation of the ASME Presidential Task Force on Response to Japan Nuclear Power Plant Events, which reviewed the Fukushima events and contrasted it with previous nuclear accidents at Three Mile Island (TMI) and Chernobyl.
At Fukushima, "There wasn't appropriate attention paid to accident planning," says Nils Diaz, task force chairman and former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The task force's call for a new "safety construct" is defined as a "set of planned, coordinated, and implemented systems ensuring that nuclear plants are designed, constructed, operated, and managed to prevent extensive societal disruption caused by radioactive releases from accidents, using an all-risk approach." The term "all-risk" requires consideration of "all credible hazards in developing probabilistic risk assessments," including "rare but credible events" that threaten the safety of a nuclear generating station. That includes very low-probability events, such as extreme floods and other natural phenomena that are unprecedented but conceivable at a given site, says the task force.
Essential elements of the task force's safety construct include:
- Capability to address potential events beyond the design basis and possible cliff-edge effects;
- Confirmation that the design basis or extended design basis includes rare yet credible events;
- Use of an all-risk approach; ensuring core cooling for all phases of accident progression;
- Improved human performance, organizational infrastructure, command and control, accident management, and emergency preparedness.
Such an approach greatly expands the industry's design basis of protecting public health and safety. "The fact is we've always fixated on public health and safety," says Diaz. The present body of knowledge establishes the importance of maintaining that focus yet highlights a relevant fact: Major consequences of severe accidents at nuclear plants have been socio-political and economic disruptions of enormous cost to society.
To read the full asme.org version of this article, please visit: http://www.asme.org/kb/news---articles/articles/nuclear/after-fukushima-asme-challenges-nuclear-industry
The Task Force report is available at: http://files.asme.org/asmeorg/Publications/32419.pdf
A Podcast interview with Task Force Chairman Dr. Diaz is available at: http://www.asme.org/kb/News---Articles/media/2012/06/Podcast-ASME-Nuclear-Industry-After-Fukushima
Robert Rains covers public policy-related energy issues for ASME. He can be reached at rainsr@asme.org
COMMITTEE APPROVES FY 2013 LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS BILL
On June 14th, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 bill that provides $158.8 billion in current year discretionary funding, including offsets and cap adjustments, in accordance with the subcommittee's 302(b) allocation.
Included in the committee mark is funding for programs related to strengthening education, including the following:
- Race to the Top: The Committee includes $549.3 million, the same level as the FY12 funding for the administration's education reform program. A significant portion of FY 2013 funds will be used for the Race to the Top—Early Learning Challenge, which will offer additional opportunities to States for enhancing early care and education.
- Investing in Innovation: The bill creates a new organization in the Department of Education called ARPA–ED that will promote advances in sciences and engineering that could be translated into new learning technologies, and for similar purposes. Modeled after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the entity that helped create the Internet, ARPA–ED will be funded as a set-aside of up to $44.8 million within the $149.4 million provided for the Investing in Innovation program.
- Pell Grants: The Committee bill maintains the discretionary portion of the maximum Pell Grant award level at $4,860 for the 2013–2014 school year. Combined with mandatory funding, the total maximum award will rise by $85 to $5,635 – the first increase since the 2010-2011 school year.
Prior to the full Committee mark-up, there was an effort to increase the Race to the Top funding to $600 million, a $51 million increase. This funding would have taken the $51 million out of the Department of Education's Math and Science Partnership (MSP) program, a formula program which provides STEM professional development funds to all 50 states. If the funding had been reduced, the MSP program would have become a competitive grant program administered by the Department of Education. The STEM Education Coalition, of which ASME is the engineering co-chair, is a longtime supporter of the MSP program and supported an amendment by Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) to restore this funding back to the MSP program and maintain its existence as a formal program.
A summary of the complete bill is available at: http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news.cfm?method=news.view&id=3c7490eb-8227-4152-84ea-2d65b683accf by clicking on the FY13 Labor HHS Subcommittee Summary link.
Melissa Carl handles public policy-related science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) issues for ASME. She can be reached at: carlm@asme.org
NATIONAL ACADEMIES RELEASES REPORT ON RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES
As part of its continuing follow-up to the Rising Above the Gathering Storm series of reports on U.S. scientific and technological competitiveness, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Board on Higher Education and Workforce has released a new report entitled, "Research Universities and the Future of America," which outlines strategies for helping to ensure that America's top research universities contribute strongly to economic growth, national security, and other national policy objectives.
The NAS report responds to a request from Congress asking for ten recommendations to "maintain the excellence in research and doctoral education needed to help the United States compete, prosper, and achieve national goals for health, energy, the environment, and security in the global community of the 21st century." First, the report examines the overall health and competitiveness of U.S. research universities, including the major problems these institutions face that range from reduced state and federal financial support, changing national demographics, increased international competition, and administrative and regulatory challenges.
Then "Research Universities and the Future of America" makes recommendations in three broad categories – revitalizing university partnerships, strengthening university institutions, and building talent to ensure the U.S. continues to attract the best students and scholars from around the world. The NAS notes that, "This report examines trends in university finance, prospects for improving university operations, opportunities for deploying technology, and improvement in the regulation of higher education institutions. It also explores ways to improve pathways to graduate education, take advantage of opportunities to increase student diversity, and realign doctoral education for the careers new doctorates will follow."
The full report and a 24-page summary are available at: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13396
Additional materials, including an archived webcast of the report's rollout, are available at: http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/bhew/researchuniversities/index.htm
Paul Fakes covers public policy-related research and development issues for ASME. He can be reached at rainsr@asme.org
SENATORS COONS, MORAN INTRODUCE BILL TO SPARK INVESTMENT IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-DE.) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) recently introduced legislation entitled, The "Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act" which would revise the federal tax code to allow renewable fuels companies to form 'master limited partnerships.
A master limited partnership (MLP) is a business structure that is taxed as a partnership, but whose ownership interests are traded like corporate stock on a market. By statute, MLPs have only been available to investors in energy portfolios for oil, natural gas, coal extraction, and pipeline projects. These projects get access to capital at a lower cost and are more liquid than traditional financing approaches to energy projects, making them highly effective at attracting private investment.
Senators Jon Tester (D-MT), Al Franken (D-MN), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) are original cosponsors of the legislation, which can be downloaded as a PDF here: http://coons.senate.gov/download/mlp-parity-act
The MLP Parity Act has been endorsed by the American Wind Energy Association, Third Way, Solar Energy Industries Association, Biomass Power Association, Biotechnology Industry Organization, Ocean Renewable Energy Coalition, American Council on Renewable Energy, Natural Resources Defense Council, Advanced Biofuels Association, Offshore Wind Development Coalition, and the Advanced Ethanol Council.
A more detailed white paper on the MLP Parity Act can be downloaded here: http://coons.senate.gov/download/mlp-white-paper
Robert Rains covers public policy-related energy issues for ASME. He can be reached at rainsr@asme.org
SENATE EPW CONSIDERS NRC NOMINATIONS
The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee held a hearing last week on the renomination of Kristine L. Svinicki to serve another five-year term as a Commissioner for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and to consider Allison Macfarlane's nomination for the position of Chair of the NRC. Macfarlane played a central role in the development of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future report that was released in fall 2011.
Macfarlane has been an associate professor of environmental science and policy since 2006 and is currently working at George Mason University. She was previously a research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an associate professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Earlier this month, NRC Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko announced his intention to resign from the NRC upon the confirmation of his successor. While Jaczko's term doesn't expire until June 2013, lawmakers indicated that they would try to confirm Macfarlane before the July 4th district work period.
During the hearing, Macfarlane stressed her ability to bridge differing views and promised to work collegially with her fellow commissioners if confirmed.
The archived video of the hearing can be viewed at: http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Choose&Hearing_id=c3846bfb-802a-23ad-4bce-a46a2eae2a60
Robert Rains covers public policy-related energy issues for ASME. He can be reached at rainsr@asme.org
GLOBAL RENEWABLE ENERGY INVESTMENT POWERS TO RECORD $257 BILLION
Total investment in renewables -- excluding large hydro -- last year increased 17 percent to a record $257 billion, a six-fold increase from the 2004 figure and 94 percent higher than the total in 2007, the year before the world financial crisis, says the United National Environment Programme (UNEP) report, "Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2012."
The report was prepared by the UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate and Sustainable Energy Finance in association with Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Although last year's 17 percent increase was smaller than the 37 percent rise recorded in 2010, it was achieved against the backdrop of a widening sovereign debt crisis in Europe and during a period of rapidly falling prices for renewable power equipment.
Renewable sources have grown to supply 16.7 percent of global final energy consumption. Of that, traditional biomass's share has declined slightly, while modern renewable energy's share has risen. In 2011, renewable energy technologies continued to expand into new markets: approximately 50 countries installed wind power capacity, and solar PV capacity was moving rapidly into new regions and countries. Solar hot water collectors are now used by more than 200 million households as well as in many public and commercial buildings all around the world.
Among the highlights from different world regions/leading countries are the following:
- In the United States, renewables provided 12.7 percent of total domestic electricity in 2011, up from 10.2 percent in 2010, and 9.3 percent in 2009. An estimated 39 percent of electric capacity added in 2011 was from renewable sources, mostly wind power. Renewable energy sources accounted for about 11.8 percent of U.S. domestic primary energy production (compared with nuclear's 11.3 percent).
- China again led the world in the installation of wind turbines and was the top hydropower producer and leading manufacturer of PV modules in 2011. Wind power generation increased by more than 48.2 percent during the year.
- In the European Union, renewables accounted for more than 71 percent of total electric capacity additions in 2011, with solar PV alone representing nearly half (46.7 percent) of new capacity that came into operation.
- Germany remained the third biggest market for renewable energy investment. Renewable sources met 12.2 percent of total final energy consumption and accounted for 20 percent of electricity consumption (up from 17.2 percent in 2010 and 16.4 percent in 2009).
- Compared with other developing regions of the world, Latin America is far closer to achieving full energy access, particularly related to electricity. Six Latin American countries expanded solar home systems, which has resulted in the installation of more than 113.000 units in 2011.
- In Africa, 8,432 new biogas plants were installed in nine countries in 2011 and production rates of biogas plants were up 100 percent compared to 2010.
To review the "Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2012" report, please visit: http://fs-unep-centre.org/publications/global-trends-renewable-energy-investment-2012
"Renewables Global Status Report" may be viewed at http://www.ren21.net/REN21Activities/Publications/GlobalStatusReport/tabid/5434/Default.aspx
Robert Rains covers public policy-related energy issues for ASME. He can be reached at rainsr@asme.org
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