This document contains policy recommendations related to energy developed by the National Commission on Energy Policy, a project of the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington DC based think tank. Topics covered include Fossil Fuel resource security, climate change, energy efficiency, nuclear energy and renewables.

"Nuclear power has long been controversial; consequently, the debate about its reemergence requires a fresh assessment of the facts about the technology, its economics and regulatory oversight, and the risks and benefits of its expansion. In the past year, the Keystone Center assembled a group of 27 individuals (see the Endorsement page for a list of Participants) with extensive experience and unique perspectives to develop a joint understanding of the “facts” and for an objective interpretation of the most credible information in areas where uncertainty persists.

"In 2003 MIT published the interdisciplinary study The Future of Nuclear Power. The underlying motivation was that nuclear energy, which today provides about 70% of the “zero”-carbon electricity in the U.S., is an important option for the market place in a low-carbon world. Since that report, major changes in the U.S. and the world have taken place as described in our 2009 Update of the 2003 Future of Nuclear Power Report. Concerns about climate change have risen: many countries have adopted restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere, and the U.S.

"This study analyzes what would be required to retain nuclear power as a significant option for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and meeting growing needs for electricity supply. Our analysis is guided by a global growth scenario that would expand current worldwide nuclear generating capacity almost threefold, to 1000 billion watts, by the year 2050. Such a deployment would avoid 1.8 billion tonnes of carbon emissions annually from coal plants, about 25% of the increment in carbon emissions otherwise expected in a business-as-usual scenario.

This report accompanies the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. Only page 44 is included in this PDF.

In response to Section 141 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, the Department of Energy hereby submits a proposal for the construction of a facility for monitored retrievable storage (MRS). The approval of this proposal by the Congress would specifically --

The Clinch River MRS Task Force was appointed in July 1985 by the Roane County Executive and the Oak Ridge City Council to evaluate the Monitored Retrievable Storage (MRS) facility proposed by the Department of Energy to be constructed in the Roane County portion of Oak Ridge. After several months of study, numerous public meetings, site visits to relevant facilities, and careful evaluation of the integrated MRS concept, it is the considered opinion of the Task Force that the facility could be safely built and operated in Roane County/Oak Ridge.

The purpose of this report is to research and document the dry storage design criteria for the cask systems currently storing or planned for storage of UNF and GTCC at from permanently shutdown reactor sites by 2019. The design criteria for the ISFSIs and storage systems storing shutdown reactor UNF and GTCC waste are documented in the licensing basis documents applicable to the ISFSI or cask system, based on the type of Part 72 license being used.

This report presents the results of testing conducted by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in support of Bechtel SAIC Co., LLC (BSC) during fiscal year 2007.

The report, Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste Inventory Report(FCRD-NFST-2013-000263, Rev.3), provides information on the inventory of commercial spent fuel, referred to in this report as used nuclear fuel (UNF), as well as Government-owned UNF and High Level Waste (HLW) in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) complex. Inventory forecasts for commercial UNF were made for a few selected scenarios of future commercial nuclear power generation involving the existing reactor fleet including one scenario involving reactors under construction.