[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1457 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1457

   To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to direct the Secretary of 
Energy to carry out demonstration projects relating to advanced nuclear 
         reactor technologies to support domestic energy needs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 28, 2017

 Mr. Flake (for himself and Mr. Booker) introduced the following bill; 
   which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to direct the Secretary of 
Energy to carry out demonstration projects relating to advanced nuclear 
         reactor technologies to support domestic energy needs.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Advanced Nuclear Energy Technologies 
Act''.

SEC. 2. ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GOALS.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle B of title VI of the Energy Policy Act of 
2005 (Public Law 109-58; 119 Stat. 782) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:

``SEC. 640. ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GOALS.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Advanced nuclear reactor.--The term `advanced nuclear 
        reactor' means a nuclear fission or fusion reactor, including a 
        prototype plant (as defined in sections 50.2 and 52.1 of title 
        10, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations)), 
        with significant improvements compared to commercial nuclear 
        reactors under construction as of the date of enactment of this 
        section, including improvements such as--
                    ``(A) additional inherent safety features;
                    ``(B) a significantly lower levelized cost of 
                electricity;
                    ``(C) lower waste yields;
                    ``(D) improved fuel performance;
                    ``(E) increased tolerance to loss of fuel cooling;
                    ``(F) enhanced reliability;
                    ``(G) increased proliferation resistance;
                    ``(H) increased thermal efficiency;
                    ``(I) reduced consumption of cooling water;
                    ``(J) the ability to integrate into electric 
                applications and nonelectric applications;
                    ``(K) modular sizes to allow for deployment that 
                corresponds with the demand for electricity; or
                    ``(L) operational flexibility to respond to changes 
                in demand for electricity and to complement integration 
                with intermittent renewable energy.
            ``(2) Demonstration project.--The term `demonstration 
        project' means an advanced nuclear reactor operated--
                    ``(A) as part of the power generation facilities of 
                an electric utility system; or
                    ``(B) in any other manner for the purpose of 
                demonstrating the suitability for commercial 
                application of the advanced nuclear reactor.
    ``(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to direct the 
Secretary, as soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this 
section, to advance the research and development of domestic advanced, 
affordable, and clean nuclear energy by--
            ``(1) demonstrating different advanced nuclear reactor 
        technologies that could be used by the private sector to 
        produce--
                    ``(A) emission-free power at a cost of $65-$70 per 
                mWh or less;
                    ``(B) heat for industrial purposes or synthetic 
                fuel production;
                    ``(C) remote or off-grid energy supply; or
                    ``(D) backup or mission-critical power supplies;
            ``(2) developing goals for nuclear energy research programs 
        that would accomplish the goals of the demonstration projects 
        carried out under subsection (c);
            ``(3) identifying research areas that the private sector is 
        unable or unwilling to undertake due to the cost of, or risks 
        associated with, the research; and
            ``(4) facilitating the access of the private sector--
                    ``(A) to Federal research facilities; and
                    ``(B) to the results of research funded by the 
                Federal Government.
    ``(c) Demonstration Projects.--
            ``(1) In general.--During the period beginning on the date 
        of enactment of this section and ending on September 30, 2028, 
        the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, enter 
        into one or more agreements to carry out not fewer than 4 
        advanced nuclear reactor demonstration projects.
            ``(2) Requirements.--In carrying out demonstration projects 
        under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) seek to include diversity in designs for the 
                advanced nuclear reactors demonstrated under this 
                section, including designs using various primary 
                coolants;
                    ``(B) seek to ensure that--
                            ``(i) the long-term cost of electricity or 
                        heat for each design to be demonstrated under 
                        this subsection is cost-competitive in the 
                        applicable market; and
                            ``(ii) the cost-competitiveness of each 
                        design to be demonstrated under this subsection 
                        is verified by an external review of the 
                        proposed design;
                    ``(C) enter into cost-sharing agreements with 
                partners in accordance with section 988 for the conduct 
                of activities relating to the research, development, 
                and demonstration of private-sector advanced nuclear 
                reactor designs under the program;
                    ``(D) work with private sector partners to identify 
                potential sites, including Department-owned sites, for 
                demonstrations, as appropriate; and
                    ``(E) align specific activities carried out under 
                demonstration projects carried out under this 
                subsection with priorities identified through direct 
                consultations between--
                            ``(i) the Department;
                            ``(ii) National Laboratories;
                            ``(iii) traditional end-users (such as 
                        electric utilities);
                            ``(iv) potential end-users of new 
                        technologies (such as petrochemical companies); 
                        and
                            ``(v) developers of advanced nuclear 
                        reactor technology.
    ``(d) Goals.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish goals for 
        research relating to advanced nuclear reactors facilitated by 
        the Department that support the objectives of the program for 
        demonstration projects established under subsection (c).
            ``(2) Coordination.--In developing the goals under 
        paragraph (1), the Secretary shall coordinate, on an ongoing 
        basis, with members of private industry to advance the 
        demonstration of various designs of advanced nuclear reactors.
            ``(3) Requirements.--In developing the goals under 
        paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure that--
                    ``(A) research activities facilitated by the 
                Department to meet the goals developed under this 
                subsection are focused on key areas of nuclear research 
                and deployment ranging from basic energy to full-design 
                development, safety evaluation, and licensing;
                    ``(B) research programs designed to meet the goals 
                emphasize--
                            ``(i) resolving materials challenges 
                        relating to radiation damage or corrosive 
                        coolants; and
                            ``(ii) qualification of advanced fuels;
                    ``(C) activities are carried out that address near-
                term challenges in modeling and simulation to enable 
                accelerated design and licensing;
                    ``(D) related technologies, such as electrochemical 
                processing or fuel recycling that could reduce nuclear 
                waste volumes or half lives, are developed;
                    ``(E) infrastructure, such as a versatile fast 
                neutron source or molten salt testing facility, to aid 
                in research are constructed;
                    ``(F) basic knowledge of non-light water coolant 
                physics and chemistry is improved; and
                    ``(G) advanced manufacturing and construction 
                techniques and materials are investigated to reduce the 
                commercialization cost of advanced nuclear reactors.''.
    (b) Table of Contents Amendment.--The table of contents of the 
Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-58; 119 Stat. 594) is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 639 the following:

``Sec. 640. Advanced nuclear reactor research and development goals.''.
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