Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
Microreactor technology is still under development. Several companies are working on various microreactor designs. Christina Carpenter is the director of the Division of Environmental Health, Department of Environmental Conservation. During a March 11 House Resources meeting she said that the expected timeframe for proven microreactors to enter the commercial marketplace is five to seven years. Carpenter commented that a conventional nuclear power station requires a fifty-mile emergency planning zone. On the other hand, the emergency planning zone for a microreactor ends at the facility door. This makes it possible to employ local decision making for microreactor siting.
Holdman told House Resources that, regardless of the proposed legislation, the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) would be responsible for regulating the manufacture of microreactor power plants. Any project involving the installation of a microreactor in Alaska would require an NRC license. She said, “They have a very robust licensing process, both on the technology side and for site licensing.”
A critical part of the NRC’s role would be to ensure that microreactors meet required safety standards. In addition, a microreactor installation would need the appropriate state permits, with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) as the lead state agency.
Holdman said that two features of microreactor designs would make the microreactors very safe. First, the nuclear fuel for the microreactors comes in the form of small pellets. The uranium used for nuclear fission is encased in layers of materials designed to withstand temperatures and pressures higher than those reached in the nuclear reactions. Second, the reactors have passive cooling systems that would cool the nuclear fuel without the need for operational intervention or a backup power supply in case of a system malfunction.
The Alaska Power Association (APA) is the Alaskan trade association for electric utilities. In testimony to House Resources, the APA expressed its support for the propose legislation. Crystal Enkvist is the APA executive director. She said that microreactors, “are a viable source of power that have the potential to lower the cost of energy for Alaskans, decrease dependency on diesel, better position our state for economic development opportunities, and raise Alaska’s profile as a hub of energy innovation and energy independence.”
Some public comments on the bills expressed concerns about the safety of nuclear power and the potential for nuclear contamination. Alaska Community Action on Toxins argued that nuclear power is not clean energy. They said that nuclear power is destructive throughout its life cycle from uranium mining, predominantly on indigenous lands, through the enrichment process to the problem of the disposal of radioactive waste.
Some people worry about the safety of operating a nuclear facility in Alaska, especially given the high frequency of earthquakes in the state. Another issue that was raised was the potential for a terrorist attack on a nuclear power plant at a remote location.
Dr. Ashley Finan is the director of the Idaho National Laboratory. She addressed some of these concerns at the House Resources Committee meeting. She said that NRC regulations ensure that a nuclear facility has a high level of safety, combined with an emergency planning zone that represents the maximum area might be impacted by an accident. Despite some high-profile nuclear power station accidents over the years, the record of minimal contamination from nuclear energy has been very positive. Most nuclear contamination originates from a time of nuclear weapon production. Reactor technology is being developed to be compatible with seismic activity.
Waste from nuclear power plants is very closely managed in the U.S. Although the U.S. does not currently have a spent nuclear fuel disposal site, the Department of Energy is seeking a site using a consent-based process that has worked successfully in Finland and Sweden. Finan said that she does not think that anyone is proposing a nuclear waste site in Alaska.