While he was only 14 when he built a nuclear fusion reactor, Taylor Wilson is now focused on a new design for a small modular fission reactor. “It’s about perfecting something old and bringing something old into the 21^st century,” he said at a recent TED Talk. Watch Wilson explain his idea and what it could mean for the future of energy generation.

Dr. Shojiro Matsuura, Chairman of JANSI

The Japan Nuclear Safety Institute (JANSI) is a newly formed nuclear safety organization that helps Japanese commercial nuclear power plant operators strive to the highest levels of safety, reliability and excellence. Using INPO as a model, JANSI assesses operators’ safety initiatives, compiling proposals and recommendations. Forum on Energy is honored to have Dr. Shojiro Matsuura, Chairman of JANSI, discuss the organization and its approach to improving nuclear safety assurance in Japan.

Forum on Energy: How would you describe the working relationship between JANSI and the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA)? How do these institutions work together?

Dr. Shojiro Matsuura:NRA establishes safety standards on legal grounds and on the basis of scientific insights. It secures the safety of citizens, and power plant operators comply with these standards.

Based on the IAEA’s Fundamental Safety Principles, the operator retains the prime responsibility for safety throughout the lifetime of facilities and activities. Operators learned from the Fukushima accident that they must autonomously pursue a higher level of safety, on top of complying with standards set by NRA.

On the basis of operators’ compliance with standards set by NRA, JANSI will objectively evaluate, make proposals and/or recommendations of the operators’ efforts for safety improvements so as to lead operators to an autonomous and continuous improvement of safety. By supporting the operators’ activities to surpass the safety evaluations, proposals and/or recommendations, we will raise the level of nuclear safety in Japan.

Forum on Energy: What, if any, plans does JANSI have to establish a peer review system? What are the key points to establishing an effective peer review system? How will the system compare to the INPO approach?

Dr. Matsuura:In future peer reviews we will be committed to thorough examinations. By comparing safety measures of nuclear facilities with best practices in the world (from both hardware and software aspects), we will identify areas for improvement and put forward proposals and/or recommendations that help operators achieve excellence in nuclear safety. JANSI will follow up operators’ efforts to ensure that improvements are actually achieved.

Currently, JANSI is working on establishment of guidelines as well as technical improvement of reviewers. To achieve this, JANSI patterns itself after INPO, and aims to improve competency by referring to the experience of INPO.

Forum on Energy: What incentive structures (e.g. safety performance linked to insurance rates) is JANSI considering?

Dr. Matsuura:Currently, there are no incentive structures such as linking JANSI’s review results and insurance rates.

With the Fukushima accident making operators recognize the severe impact on their entity and the society in the event of major nuclear incidents, we believe that there is sufficient incentive for operators and JANSI to continue tireless improvement to achieve excellence in nuclear safety.

However, in circumstances where safety has reached a higher level, we understand that frameworks to motivate further safety improvement will become an issue to consider. (It is our understanding that the U.S. has already reached such a level.)

Forum on Energy: The NRA has introduced a probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) approach to its safety regulations. Will JANSI also introduce a quantitative risk analysis of plant safety which would align with the NRA’s PRA approach? If so, how will that be done in practice?

Dr. Matsuura: Details on how to apply probabilistic approaches to nuclear safety regulations are yet to be clarified. However, JANSI regards that the supplementary utilization of probabilistic approaches, in addition to existing deterministic approaches, is increasing its importance.

JANSI is helping to develop frameworks that would guide nuclear operators on how to respond to probabilistic approaches. Specifically, JANSI is working out various efforts such as supporting academic societies and industry associations to develop PRA implementation standards and developing new Severe Accident Management (SAM) implementation standards based on domestic data. JANSI is also estimating the parameters for PRA and establishing autonomous SAM guidelines, which include PRA for operators, and holding seminars on PRA.

Furthermore, we believe that JANSI itself must prepare to apply probabilistic approaches.

Forum on Energy: What are your hopes for the future of JANSI? What do you see as its main role in the nuclear community?

Dr. Matsuura: The mission of JANSI is to lead the Japanese nuclear industry in pursuit of excellence in nuclear safety. To achieve this mission, JANSI is striving to be a trustworthy institute that fulfills the following various roles:

• A center that can provide excellence by gathering and analyzing up-to-date domestic/international information.
• A group of technical experts that can objectively evaluate domestic nuclear facilities based on high-level, broad perspectives.
• An independent institution which has powerful autonomy to transmit high-quality proposals and/or recommendations on the basis of evaluations.
• A support institution that backs up operators’ safety improvement efforts or the implementation of proposals and/or recommendations provided by JANSI
• A cutting-edge institution that supports the vast areas of nuclear technology from the standpoint of safety.

The Forum on Energy weekly news roundup brings together a mix of global energy stories from around the web. It is published every Thursday morning on Forum on Energy and is available on Twitter via @forumonenergy.

Abe Administration to Advocate Pro-nuclear Stance
The administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) have announced their aim to restore nuclear power operations so long as the plants are confirmed to be safe. The resumption of nuclear operations is one of several topics being considered for the party’s political platform for the Japanese Parliament’s Upper House election in June. The party platform will be debated at the upcoming meeting of the LDP policy chiefs on May 22 and will be finalized the following week. The LDP will run under the same motto as its Lower House election campaign: “Recovering Japan.” The administration is also promoting nuclear power in international deals, with Abe planning a June meeting with the Visegrad Group, an alliance of Central European states, to discuss importing Japanese nuclear technology.
Sources: The Asahi Shimbun, Japan Times

New CO2 Threshold is Seen As Wakeup Call for Policymakers
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported on May 9 that the earth’s atmospheric carbon dioxide levels had registered at 400 parts per million — a concentration has not existed on earth in the last 3 million years. The 400ppm threshold is thought to cause the earth’s temperatures to rise by 2 degrees Celsius, which in turn would cause Arctic ice to melt and is associated with changes such as increased forest fires and widespread coral bleaching. But scientists also cautioned that it is hard to be exactly sure how much CO2 would cause a 2 degree increase. Crossing the 400ppm threshold represents a wake-up call for policymakers to consider reducing CO2 emissions as more than a scientific milestone.
Source: E&E News

TEPCO Announces Plans for Fukushima Daiichi Spent Fuel and Contaminated Water
On May 9 Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) announced plans to install equipment necessary for the removal of spent fuel from the Fukushima Daiichi No. 1 reactor building. The installation is scheduled for the fall and will involve the temporary dismantling of the building’s cover constructed in October 2011 to prevent radiation releases. According to TEPCO, the work may lead to a “slight rise” in the release of radiation, which will have “little” impact. To address the more immediate challenge of handling contaminated water, TEPCO met with local fishermen on Monday to seek approval for the discharge of some water with contamination levels described as “the same as rivers in surrounding areas.”
Sources: House of Japan, Japan Times

NRC Delays San Onofre Restart Decision
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairwoman Allison Macfarlane explained on Tuesday that the NRC staff will not reach a decision on the restart of the San Onofre nuclear plant until late June at the earliest. This announcement came a day after a ruling by an independent panel of NRC judges that San Onofre’s restart proceedings represent a de facto license amendment “subject to a hearing opportunity.” The panel’s decision has drawn differing interpretations from the petitioner Friends of the Earth and the NRC over when and how such hearings must take place.
Source: The Los Angeles Times

Dominion Shuts Down Kewaunee Power Station
On May 7, Dominion permanently shut down the Kewaunee nuclear power plant, a 556-megawatt station located near Green Bay, Wisconsin. Dominion announced the shutdown plans in the fall of 2012 and cited low projected wholesale electricity prices as a driving factor in the decision. “This decision was based purely on economics,” explained David Heacock, president of Dominion Nuclear and Chief Nuclear Officer of Dominion.” The dedicated employees have operated the station safely and well.” Dominion is now obligated to decommission the plant and restore the site to green field status within 60 years.
Source: Dominion

The U.S.-Japan Nuclear Working Group, an independent bi-national group of experts tasked with examining the broader strategic implications of the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, has released a statement summarizing its findings and recommendations. The report, “Statement on Shared Strategic Priorities in the Aftermath of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident,” reflects the group’s consensus after twelve months of discussions with opinion leaders in Japan, the United States, and the global nuclear government community in Vienna, Austria.

The report articulates the following:

1. Issues that must be addressed irrespective of Japan’s energy policy decisions
2. Broader strategic concerns within Japan’s energy policy debate
3. Strategic recommendations for the industries and governments of Japan and the United States

Some of the key recommendations in the final section of the report provide guidance for how the global energy community can work together to create a path forward, given that decisions on each side of the ocean have far-reaching implications across borders. These recommendations include international collaboration to define joint solutions for spent fuel and waste storage, as well as a remediation and decommissioning process.

>>Read the report below for the full set of recommendations.

U.S.-Japan Nuclear Working Group Statement on Shared Strategic Priorities in the Aftermath of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

The Forum on Energy weekly news roundup brings together a mix of global energy stories from around the web. It is published every Thursday morning on Forum on Energy and is available on Twitter via @forumonenergy.

Japan, Turkey Reach Agreement on Second Turkish Plant
Japan and Turkey have reached an agreement to construct Turkey’s second nuclear power plant in the country’s northern Sinop province. The approximately $22 billion contract would see it built within the next ten years. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the benefits of nuclear energy outweigh the risk. “With an advance technology we will take better steps,” he said. “We are going to use first-class technology,” added Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. “We have carried our experience in nuclear safety to the highest level through lessons learned from past accidents and risks.” Soon after the agreement was signed, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said the nuclear energy plants will help the country save $7.2 billion in natural gas imports.
Sources: Turkish Press, The Japan Daily Press, World Bulletin

Environmentalist’s Film Makes the Case for a Nuclear-powered Future
Pandora’s Promise, a new film from environmentalist filmmaker Robert Stone, argues that the growing needs of the modern world and the very real dangers of climate change demonstrate the importance of using to nuclear energy to help power the world. In a statement on the movie’s website, Stone wrote that “It’s no easy thing for me to have come to the conclusion that the rapid deployment of nuclear power is now the greatest hope we have for saving us from an environmental catastrophe.” The movie is set for a June release.
Source: Rolling Stone

Obama Open to Possibility of Exporting LNG to Central America
At a weekend development forum in Central America, President Obama suggested the possibility of exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) to help alleviate the region’s energy concerns. There are approximately two dozen applications to export the resource to non-free-trade agreement countries currently waiting on the president’s approval. Obama noted that the United States is on pace to be a net natural gas exporter by 2020. U.S. businesses differ on their support of exports — some say supplies are adequate to begin exporting LNG, while others worry that will serve to push domestic prices higher. The price debate is a moot point for Eduardo Atala, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Honduras, said the region needs LNG. “The most expensive energy is that which is lacking, and there are 1.8 million Hondurans today who don’t have access to energy,” he said.
Source: Reuters

Japanese Utility Financial Losses May Increase with Decommissioning Costs
In addition to the billions spent on purchase and use of imported fossil fuels, Japanese utilities could also lose even more on decommissioning nuclear reactors if they are unable to retrofit them to Nuclear Regulation Authority’s new safety regulation standards. That would likely include the 10 reactors built on designs from 1975 or earlier — including the three that experienced the most damage as a result of the May 2011 earthquake and tsunami. While the cost of permanently shutting down these reactors is not known, in 2008 Chubu Electric Power Co. decommissioned two units at a cost of nearly $2 billion. While utility companies are mulling over these additional future costs, the weakened yen is making fossil fuel imports even more expensive and increasing the possibility that Japan will turn back to nuclear energy as its main source of electricity generation, according to CNBC. “If you look at the cost of [idle nuclear plants], Japan has to rely much more heavily on energy importing to meet their economic needs,” said Alex Ashby, research analyst at Global X Fund. “Obviously, as costs escalate, it makes businesses difficult to compete.”
Sources: Bloomberg Businessweek, CNBC

Japan’s Economic Mission Brings Nuclear, Medical Services Export Deals
One of the main goals from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s four-nation tour through Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey and Russia was to emphasize the country’s plans to utilize nuclear energy and medical services expertise to expand its economy. The trip included the signing of a joint declaration between Japan and Turkey giving Japan exclusive negotiating rights on a new nuclear reactor for the Mediterranean country — Japan’s first nuclear plant export since Fukushima Daiichi. “We can provide the world’s safest nuclear technology as well as technologies on renewable energy,” Abe said. “We also want to contribute to increasing energy supply capacity.” In addition to agreement to begin low-level discussion on a nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia, Japan will also be “dispatching doctors, exporting advanced medical equipment and opening a medical center that offers particle radiotherapy for cancer patients,” according to The Asahi Shimbun. Japan also signed its first nuclear energy agreement with the UAE since Fukushima, which it hopes is the first step toward building twelve new planned reactors.
Source: The Asahi Shimbun

The Forum on Energy weekly news roundup brings together a mix of global energy stories from around the web. It is published every Thursday morning on Forum on Energy and is available on Twitter via @forumonenergy.

Senate Bill Would Create New Agency in Charge of Nuclear Waste Management
A draft bill from four U.S. Senators would remove the responsibility of managing the disposal of spent nuclear fuel from the U.S. Department of Energy and pass it off to a new federal agency. Under the legislation, the agency’s head will be appointed by the president and approved by the Senate. The bill also allows for the creation of a temporary storage facility while the site fora permanent storage facility is identified and agreed upon. One frequently named possibility is Nevada’s Yucca Mountain facility. While President Obama ended  plans to name the site the permanent repository, the legislation has helped renew discussion of the possibility. But this plan faces significant opposition. “No amount of reassurance from the federal government will reassure us that Nevada should be the nation’s nuclear waste dump,” said Sen. Dean Heller, D-Nev., during the April confirmation hearings for Department of Energy head Ernest Moniz. (See the Forum on Energy’s “Nuclear Waste Resource Guide” for more information.)
Source: U.S. News & World Report

Turkey Close to Contract For Second Planned Nuclear Plant
Turkey has nearly completed an agreement to build a second nuclear plant over the next decade. Turkey’s Energy Minister, Taner Yildiz, said in April that it was premature to declare who will construct the plant, which should have four pressurized water nuclear reactors and a capacity of about 4,500-5,000 megawatts. Talks are currently being held with Japan and China, with the expectation of a deal being signed this week by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a visit to Turkey.  Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said “Japan’s nuclear technology is at the world’s highest levels of safety and needs to be shared with other countries.” Construction will begin in 2017.
Source: Reuters, Kuwait News Agency, AFP

Japanese Industry Minister: Reactor Restarts As Early As Autumn
Japan could begin to restart its idled nuclear reactor fleet as early as this autumn, according to a recent statement from industry minister Toshimitsu Motegi. That will first depend on the reactors complying with the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s revised safety regulations, on pace to be set by July 18, he said. The local communities would also have to approve the decision. Only two of the country’s fifty reactors are currently online.
Source: Japan Daily Press

Japan, TEPCO Create Task Force to Solve Contaminated Water Issue
In response to a recent International Atomic Energy Agency inspection that found contaminated water to be the most pressing issue at Fukushima Daiichi, the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) have assembled an expert taskforce to assess and address the issue. They met for the first time last Friday. In early April TEPCO discovered two leaks in Fukushima’s underground storage pools, which let radioactive substances into the surrounding soil. There are currently about 280,000 tons of liquid radioactive waste in Fukushima’s storage tanks and at the current rate more space will be needed sooner than anticipated. Japan expects to put together a construction schedule in June. (See the Forum on Energy’s “Radiation Resource Guide” for more information.)
Source: Japan Today

U.S., South Korea Extend Civilian Nuclear Agreement; Postpone Decision on Reprocessing
The United States and South Korea are extending their existing civilian nuclear agreement by two years. The agreement is set to expire next March and requires Congressional approval. This extension effectively postpones a decision on whether to permit the Asian nation — the world’s fifth-largest nuclear energy producer — to reprocess spent fuel. The United States “has historically opposed allowing reprocessing and enrichment by its nuclear partners so as to prevent proliferation of the technology,” according to The Washington Post. “Punting the negotiations down the road for two years is advisable, benefits industry by creating some sense of predictability, and is politically neutral,” wrote Victor Cha of the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.
Source: The Washington Post

The Forum on Energy weekly news roundup brings together a mix of global energy stories from around the web. It is published every Thursday morning on Forum on Energy and is available on Twitter via @forumonenergy.

Decline of Yen to Affect Japanese Power Costs
The recent drop in the value of the yen has exacerbated the economic impact of the shutdown of  most of Japan’s nuclear power plants. Lacking previous nuclear power capacity, the country’s electric utilities have imported more liquefied natural gas and other fossil fuels. With the decrease in the yen, imported fuel has become even more costly. A new report from the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry estimates that the nuclear plant suspension may boost power generation fuel costs at nine utilities by 3.8 trillion yen in fiscal year 2013.
Source: Power Engineering, Financial Times

Safety Improvements Urged at Fukushima
The United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has urged Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) to improve safety measures at the Fukushima nuclear plant after a series of water leaks. The comments came after an IAEA mission met with officials from the Japanese government and TEPCO last week in Tokyo, ahead of their on-site inspection at the plant to monitor progress in its decommissioning. TEPCO President Naomi Hirose recently indicated that the company will be able to safely complete the transfer of radioactive water from underground reservoirs to aboveground tanks by early June.
Source: AFP, House of Japan

Rise in Value of Shipments to U.S. Helps Narrow Japan’s Trade Deficit
The Japanese finance ministry has released figures showing that overall exports rose 1.1 percent from a year ago. Imports increased 5.5 percent in the same period, due in large part to the fuel Japan has imported to replace its idled nuclear capacity. These figures represent Japan’s slimmest trade deficit in the last nine months, aided by a rise in the value of shipments made to the United States.
Source: CNN

Saudi Arabia to Pursue Nuclear Power
Despite extensive oil and gas reserves, Saudi Arabia is planning to pursue the development of nuclear power to meet a rising demand for power and alleviate the harmful environmental effects of burning fossil fuels. According to a new report from Research and Markets, the country hopes to build 17 Gigawatts of nuclear power by 2032, which will help stem water scarcity and environmental degradation issues. Agreements with countries that have nuclear expertise will allow Saudi Arabia to build a sound regulatory structure and develop safety technology.
Source: Stockhouse

Japan to Pursue Energy Possibilities in Russia, Middle East
In order to meet its increased energy demand since slowing nuclear production, Japan is pursuing energy-related business opportunities in Russia and the Middle East. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Russia and the Middle East with Japanese business leaders in a month to explore partnerships to help Japan acquire cheaper overseas energy options in exchange for Japanese expertise in technology and infrastructure development. In addition, Japan’s Marubeni Corporation has announced an agreement with Russia’s Rosneft on the implementation of a liquefied natural gas project that allows for joint exploration and development of oil and natural gas fields in far east Russia.
Source: Japan Daily Press, UPI

This week, The Wall Street Journal posed a very important question to the nuclear power industry’s thought leaders: What is the best way forward? The question stemmed from a recent article discussing what the United States should do with nuclear waste as it pursues nuclear energy opportunities. Below are some thoughts from these experts:

• Robert Rapier, Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President at Merica International — a forestry and renewable energy company — believes that public safety and nuclear waste are two important issues that must be addressed in order for nuclear power to gain traction. In order to address safety, new nuclear plants must be designed to be fail-safe and should utilize existing technology to reprocess the waste into additional nuclear fuel on-site.

• Iván Martén, the global leader of Boston Consulting Group’s energy practice, highlights that nuclear power is a key part of the United States’ energy combination, but it is currently under an incredible amount of economic pressure. In order to relieve some of this pressure, the country must implement regulations that reward the environmental benefits of nuclear power and take a rational approach to safety regulations that allow for cost-effective compliance.

• Jerry Taylor, senior fellow and energy expert at the CATO Institute, questions the current economic viability of nuclear power. He said nuclear power is the most expensive source of electricity on the U.S. grid and there are plenty of cheap, new power options, including natural gas.

• Todd Myers, environmental director at the Washington Policy Center, explains that current legal and permitting challenges make small-scale nuclear the most viable approach. TerraPower is developing a small nuclear reactor powered by existing waste, which could prove to be both cost effective and able to overcome the legal hurdles to constructing new reactors.

• Michael Levi is the David M. Rubenstein senior fellow for energy and the environment and director of the program on energy security and climate change at the Council on Foreign Relations. He promotes putting a price on carbon emissions to improve the future of the nuclear energy industry. The expense of nuclear power is exacerbated by cheap, prevalent coal and gas. In addition, streamlining regulatory approvals would reduce overall capital costs of nuclear power up front.

• Closing existing nuclear plants without a viable plan to replace them is not the answer, according to Mark Thurber, associate director of Stanford University’s program on energy and sustainable development. Where safety and reliability are concerned, nuclear operators may be able to draw lessons from the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), an intra-industry body that was formed in the United States in the wake of the Three Mile Island accident. INPO has achieved dramatic improvements in safety practices by allowing U.S. operators to review each other in a non-public forum.

• Ariel Cohen, a senior research fellow in Russian and Eurasian studies and international energy policy at the Heritage Foundation, suggests that the United States ease the nuclear permitting process in order to build the one reactor per year required to meet the 30 percent increase in electricity demand projected for 2040. To address the issue of nuclear waste, Cohen recommends a five-pronged approach: complete the Yucca Mountain Permit Review; develop a permanent nuclear waste repository; engage waste producers and market forces in disposal; create a connection between price and waste disposal; and allow competition in nuclear waste management.

• The way forward on nuclear is through China, according to Jeffrey Ball, scholar-in-residence at Stanford University’s Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance and former environment editor for The Wall Street Journal. While other industrialized countries are phasing out or stalling their nuclear programs, China is forging ahead. The International Energy Agency projects that 10 percent of China’s electricity will come from the country’s nuclear plants. In 2010, only two percent was generated from nuclear sources.