Tons of nuclear waste has been piling up at more than 70 commercial reactor sites in the U.S. Granholm told the Consortia by video, but we can no longer ignore the back end of the fuel cycle. Nuclear energy is a vital part of America’s green energy future, U.S. Everyone hopes to avoid another Yucca Mountain, but unanimity will likely be difficult to come by. There was much discussion about equity and justice and what “consent” actually looks like. The $26 million invested in the Consortia will stimulate a national conversation, Camargo said, and over time, that will help ensure that potential host communities are truly informed and willing. SCE views consent-based siting for both interim and permanent spent fuel facilities as the most reliable and likely path to success.” Past efforts failed to place consent at the center of a repository program, and we must learn and adapt. Government Accountability Office’s map of sites storing spent nuclear waste. A repository program is vital to making more near-term, interim storage acceptable to potential host communities. “The plan requires help from Congress in order to authorize consent-based siting for one or more permanent deep geologic repositories. It’s the most concrete plan we have seen in years,” said Manuel Camargo, principal manager for strategic planning, by email. “We’re encouraged by the DOE’s three-stage roadmap that leads to federal consolidated interim storage in 10 to 15 years. It’s good news to Southern California Edison, which manages San Onofre’s tear-down and is stuck babysitting the waste while the federal government figures things out. Each is getting about $2 million to “help DOE learn from and involve communities across the country in the consent-based siting process, answer questions and concerns, and develop an understanding so that we are good neighbors even before moving in.” In June, the DOE awarded $26 million to the Consortia - 13 nonprofit and university teams, including several from California - tasked with getting this consent-based siting ball rolling. The long-term will take a lot longer and be more challenging which is why the near term is so important.” It’s a reminder that we need to have strategies taking shape for interim storage, so that spent fuel has a place to go, in addition to long-term permanent storage. The experience in other countries is that building consent takes quite a while. “That remains to be seen because congressional funding for these kinds of activities has historically been uneven - although the Southern California delegation has been key to keeping support in recent years. “My general impression is that this timetable is realistic, but probably could be accelerated a little bit if DOE could provide sustained support that is credible,” said David Victor, professor at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy, and chair of the San Onofre Community Engagement Panel. ‘Realistic’ Screenshot from DOE presentation How quickly things move will likely boil down to how important Congress feels this quest is, and how much money it dedicates to the task. Of course we’ve all learned that such timelines can be purely aspirational - DOE was supposed to start accepting the nation’s commercial nuclear waste for permanent disposal in, um, 1998 - but again, after decades of paralysis, this is at least some progress. That’s expected to take another 2-3 years, and the DOE won’t entertain volunteer hosts just yet. We’re in Stage 1 right now: “Planning and Capacity Building.” This involves earning the trust of local communities, encouraging “mutual learning” and understanding of nuclear waste management. The feds plan to figure that out over the next decade-and-a-half.Īt its “ Consent-based Siting Consortia Kickoff” on Tuesday, July 25, the DOE spelled out three distinct phases for its renewed effort to enlist communities ready, willing and able to host the nation’s nuclear waste, at least temporarily. Yes, by 2038 (more or less), millions of pounds of spent fuel from San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station and other commercial reactors could be preparing to leave their steel-and-concrete tombs and relocate to a new, albeit temporary, federal home or homes. Department of Energy has a timeline to “operation readiness” for a new site to hold America’s nuclear waste: This Google Earth image shows how close the expanded dry storage area for spent nuclear waste will be to the shoreline at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.
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