<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN">
<html><head><style type="text/css"><!--
blockquote, dl, ul, ol, li { margin-top: 0 ; margin-bottom: 0 }
--></style><title>Oct. 1 E&S Seminar: The Future of Nuclear
Power</title></head><body>
<div><font color="#000000">We hope you will join us for the first LFEE
seminar of the semester on Oct. 1!</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br></font></div>
<div>Environment and Sustainability Seminar Series<br>
Sponsored by the MIT Laboratory for Energy and the Environment</div>
<div><http://lfee.mit.edu></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br></font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><b><br></b></font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">The Future of Nuclear Power: An
Interdisciplinary MIT Study</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br></font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">Ernest J. Moniz<br>
Professor of Physics, and</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">Director of Energy Studies, Laboratory for
Energy and the Environment</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br></font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br></font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">Wednesday, October 1, 2003</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">12:00-1:30 p.m.</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">Room E40-496</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br>
ABSTRACT</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br></font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">An interdisciplinary MIT faculty group
studied the future of nuclear power because it is an important option
for meeting electricity needs without emitting carbon dioxide.
The economics, safety, waste management, and nonproliferation
challenges of enabling a possible global mid-century deployment of
about 1000 GWe were addressed through a set of findings and policy
recommendations.</font><br>
<font color="#000000"></font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">* Such a mid-century growth scenario will
be based primarily on thermal reactors operated in a once-through
mode.</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">* A merchant plant model of costs shows
that, if nuclear power is to be competitive with coal and natural gas,
industry must demonstrate its plausible but unproved claims of
significant reactor capital cost reduction and the social costs of
greenhouse gas emission need to be internalized. For the United
States, we recommend electricity production tax credits for a set of
"first mover" plants.</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">* Long term storage of spent fuel prior to
geological emplacement, specifically including international spent
fuel storage, should be systematically incorporated into waste
management strategies. The scope of waste management R&D
should be expanded significantly; an extensive program on deep
borehole disposal is an example.</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">* The current international safeguards
regime should be strengthened to meet the nonproliferation challenges
of globally expanded nuclear power. The Additional Protocol
needs to be implemented; the accounting/inspection regime should be
supplemented with strong surveillance and containment systems for new
fuel cycle facilities; safeguards should be implemented in a
risk-based framework keyed to fuel cycle activity.</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">* A major international effort should be
launched to develop the analytical tools and to collect essential
scientific and engineering data for integrated assessment of fuel
cycles. Large demonstration projects are not justified in the
absence of advanced analysis and simulation capability.</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">* Public acceptance is critical to
expansion of nuclear power. In the United States, the public
does not yet see nuclear power as a way to address global
warming.</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br></font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">(The full report is available
electronically at http://web.mit.edu/nuclearpower/.)</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br></font></div>
<div>Light refreshments will be provided.</div>
<div>___________________________________________________</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Part of a series of talks on issues of environment and
sustainability</div>
<div>sponsored by the MIT Laboratory for Energy and the
Environment.<br>
<br>
If you would like to be added or removed from this mailing list,
please</div>
<div>contact Karen Gibson, kgibson@mit.edu</div>
<div><font face="Geneva" color="#000000">-- <br>
_________________________________</font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva" color="#000000">Karen L.
Gibson</font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva" color="#000000">Program
Assistant</font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva" color="#000000">MIT Laboratory For Energy and
the Environment</font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva" color="#000000">77 Massachusetts Avenue,
E40-469</font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva" color="#000000">(1 Amherst St., E40-469 - for
DHL and FedEx)</font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva" color="#000000">Cambridge, MA 02139
USA</font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva" color="#000000">Tel: 1 (617) 258-6368;
Fax: 1 (617) 258-6590</font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva"
color="#000000">http://lfee.mit.edu</font></div>
<div><font face="Geneva"
color="#000000">http://globalsustainability.org</font></div>
</body>
</html>