DOE Nuclear Waste Fund's FY21 financial statement audit released
DOE Office of Inspector General + ECA Staff | 11/18/2021
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The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 established the Nuclear Waste Fund (NWF). The NWF was designed as a collection of fees paid quarterly by utilities owning nuclear power plants in exchange for the construction and operation of a permanent repository for commercial spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste. However, DOE did not develop a permanent disposal facility for this waste, and in 2014 utilities across the nation ceased payments to the NWF.
Despite a lack of active contributions from utilities' fees, the NWF still generates around $1.5 billion in interest per year.
The OIG report indicates, as of September 30, 2021, “the US Treasury securities held by the NWF were $44.3 billion” and “had a fair value of $52.4 billion.” The balance sheet of the report lists the Total Assets (including property and accounts receivable) as $46.7 billion.
The report presents the results of an independent certified public accountant's audit of the balance sheets of the NWF as of September 30, 2021 and 2020, and the related statements of net cost, changes in net position, and statements of budgetary resources for the years then ended.
As part of the review, auditors also considered the NWF’s internal controls over financial reporting and tested for compliance with certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements that could have a direct and material effect on the determination of financial statement amounts. The audit did not identify any deficiency in internal control over financial reporting that is considered a material weakness. Additionally, the results of the
auditors’ review disclosed no instances of noncompliance or other matters required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards or applicable Office of Management and Budget guidance.
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"CAPITALIZING ON A NEW ERA OF CLEANUP
SUCCESS"
December 7-9, 2021
Hilton Alexandria Mark Center
Alexandria, Virginia
If you have already registered for the Workshop, you will not need to re-register. If you need to register, please click here. If you have questions, please contact Autumn Bogus at abogus@la-inc.com or (865)
300-1061.
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OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGAGEMENT
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DECEMBER 6
On Thursday, December 6, from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM ET, the Committee on Merits and Viability of Different Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Technology Options and the Waste Aspects of Advanced Nuclear Reactors will hear from the sponsor U.S. Department of Energy-Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE), congressional staff
from the appropriations committees, an expert on China’s advanced nuclear energy systems, and an expert on the U.S. advanced nuclear programs.
The meeting information is below:
WEBEX MEETING LINK
Meeting number: 2764 170 4525
Password: ekHPhJp4i35 (35474574 from phones and video systems)
The committee welcomes input and will host public comment sessions at the end of each public session. Attendance is open and free to the public. Both public sessions will be held exclusively online and will be recorded. The recordings will be made available pending permissions and processing time.
Agenda and connection information may also be accessed here.
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NRC issues key safety report on Kairos Power reactor
DOE Office of Nuclear Energy | 11/22/2021
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently issued a draft safety evaluation report indicating initial acceptance of Kairos Power’s source term methodology for its Kairos Power fluoride salt-cooled high temperature reactor (KP-FHR).
Kairos Power submitted a topical report back in June 2020, which details the company’s approach to calculating the amount of radioactive material that could be released to the environment during an accident. The topical report is the first of its kind to be reviewed by the NRC and helps reduce the risk of
licensing and deploying the company’s next-gen reactor. The US-based company successfully developed the method through a cost-shared award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
The draft safety evaluation report documents NRC’s review of the company’s source term calculation approach. If approved, a final safety evaluation report could be issued by February 2022 to utilize throughout the licensing process.
“This accomplishment strengthens our team’s extensive pre-application engagement with the NRC and builds licensing certainty for our advanced reactor technology,” said Mike Laufer, co-founder and CEO of Kairos Power. “In combination with our iterative hardware demonstrations, our licensing engagement contributes to the cost certainty that will be necessary for commercial demonstration and deployment.”
Kairos Power is developing a fluoride salt-cooled, high temperature reactor that leverages robust TRISO fuel, which was first developed by DOE in the 1960s. Research by Idaho National Laboratory has indicated that the source term for TRISO-based fuel is significantly less than traditional fuels, which
further reinforces the enhanced safety and operation of the company’s reactor design as it continues with the pre-licensing phase of the NRC process.
To date, Kairos Power has submitted 14 technical and topical reports to the NRC, with five topical reports now approved. The company is also in the process of licensing Hermes—a low-power demonstration reactor that Kairos expects will be operational by 2026 in East Tennessee and will support technology development
for the KP-FHR. DOE is supporting the technology development, construction, and commissioning of Hermes through its Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program award.
KP-FHR technology is based, in part, on a DOE-sponsored university Integrated Research Project led by MIT for fluoride salt-cooled high temperature reactors. Kairos Power is actively collaborating with DOE national laboratories in over nine projects supported in part by DOE funding. The commercial version of the KP-FHR is expected to be deployed in the 2030s.
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Read about DOE's High Level Waste Interpretation
Have questions about DOE’s recent high-level waste (HLW) interpretation? Download ECA’s Key Points and FAQs on the issue to better understand what ECA believes are the potential benefits of implementation.
Interested in learning more? Read the ECA report “Making Informed Decisions on DOE's Proposed High Level Waste Definition” at www.energyca.org/publications
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Stay Current on Activities in the DOE World
Read the latest edition of the ECA Bulletin, a regular newsletter providing a detailed brief of ECA activities, legislative news, and major events from across the DOE complex. Have suggestions for future editions? Email bulletin@energyca.org.
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Learn More about Cleanup Sites with ECA's DOE Site Profiles
ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's 13 active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national laboratories, highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, stakeholders, and the public to learn more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local governments.
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