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PBR - Not the Beer
 The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requires that the President of the United States submit to Congress, on or before the first Monday in February of each year, a detailed budget request for the coming federal fiscal year, which begins on October 1. The President's Budget Request (PBR) tells Congress how much money the president believes should be spent on the various Cabinet-level federal functions, like defense, education, health, agriculture, etc.
In the next phase of the annual budget process, the House and Senate Budget Committees will hold hearings on the PBR. In the hearings, administration officials - sometimes even the secretaries of the Cabinet-level agencies - are called to testify, and justify their specific budget requests. Based on the hearings and the PBR, the Budget Committees will prepare a draft of the congressional budget resolution. After being amended by the full House and Senate, the congressional budget resolution will go to a joint House-Senate conference committee, where any differences will be resolved. The conference report on the annual congressional budget resolution will then be debated and passed by both houses of Congress.
On April 10th, President Obama released his 2014 budget proposal or the PBR. Although actual appropriations levels ultimately depend on Congressional action as described above, the President's 244-page budget provides valuable insight into the Administration's spending priorities, and its energy policy positions.
Notably, the President's budget increases all of the Department of Energy (DOE) funding by eight percent over fiscal year 2012 levels. This would help mitigate the effects of sequestration, increasing the DOE appropriations by $2.4 billion to $28.4 billion in 2014, up from around $26 billion today.
In addition, President Obama's preliminary budget documents show the MOX project would be slowed down as construction costs are trimmed by about 25 percent in 2014. The MOX construction cuts are part of a larger cut planned in the government's fissile materials disposition program, which focuses on reducing excess nuclear weapons grade material. Overall, cuts to the program are about $200 million.
Again, the budget process still has a long way to go before becoming final and keep in mind the possibility of additional Continuing Resolutions which have become the norm. Whichever way the funding process follows, our community stands to lose jobs and receive considerable adverse economic impact.
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Energy Career Cluster
 The movement to institute an Energy Career Cluster at the state level is spreading. Throughout the country, sixteen standard Career Clusters and associated career pathways are used to help guide course-taking choices and career decision making activities for students enrolled in K-12 education programs. Depending on the business and industry environment, states often adapt Career Clusters to reflect their state's educational objectives, standards, and economic development priorities.
Now Georgia Department of Education Career Clusters include the 17th Energy Career Cluster. Florida has also implemented the new cluster. The Energy Career Cluster prepares individuals for careers in the designing, planning, maintaining, generating, transmission, and distribution of traditional and alternative energy. The energy programs in both states are based on the Energy Industry Fundamentals course modules developed by the Center for Energy Workforce Development.
Debra Howell, Workforce Development Manager for Georgia Power and Education and Policy Chair for the Georgia Energy and Industrial Construction Consortium (GEICC), said her state adapted the concept to meet Georgia's needs. |
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SMRs - Second Time Could Be a Charm
 The US government has announced another funding opportunity to help industry design and certify small modular reactors (SMRs). The Department of Energy (DOE) said that it will "solicit proposals for cost-shared small modular reactor projects that have the potential to be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and achieve commercial operation around 2025." The deadline for applications is 1 July.
In November, the Babcock and Wilcox (B&W) mPower reactor was selected as the winner of the first round of funding, launched by the DOE in March 2012. Just this past Monday (April 15, 2013), B&W announced it has reached a formal agreement on the funding, which will include $79 million for the first year. Future funding is subject to Congressional approval. DOE estimated the award will total $150 million over a five-year period, although the agreement allows for as much as $226 million if the money is available.
 Holtec is seeking funding for its 160 MWe SMR-160. Each unit would occupy less than five acres of land and can be operated with conventional water or air cooling, making it suitable for sites without access to large volumes of water. Holtec has already said that it would pay back any public money if it fails to securea license for the SMR-160.
The State of South Carolina, along with a strong team including NuHub, South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G), the Southern Carolina Alliance Region, the Aiken Edgefield Economic Development Partnership, Central SC Alliance, and other partners around the state have formed an exclusive partnership with Holtec International, Inc., a diversified energy technology company supplying equipment and systems for the nuclear, solar, geothermal and fossil power generation sectors of the energy industry, to compete for the second round federal funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for small modular reactor (SMR) development.
Winning the award would support the development, licensing, construction, commissioning and operation of Holtec's flagship reactor, named SMR-160, at the Savannah River Site (SRS) by the 2025 target date. This and other small modular reactors (SMRs) have gained tremendous attention and are reinvigorating the world of civil nuclear power. The SMR sector has emerged as an important new element of the global nuclear renaissance, and despitenegative effects from the Fukushima disaster, the SMR market is one area that has not lost momentum.
Development plans for small modular reactors was the focus of nearly 300 nuclear industry leaders attending the third annual Small Modular Reactor Conference held in Columbia on April 16-17, 2013.
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SRSCRO Spotlight | |
SRSCRO
Appointing Entity
Development
Authority of Columbia County
The Development Authority of Columbia County (DACC), a non-profit public corporation that acts as the conduit for unique financing tools designed for businesses, is the lead economic development agency for the Columbia County, Georgia.
As a public, non-profit economic development agency, DACC works to advance commerce throughout the 300-square mile area of Columbia County, primarily by working with its existing industry base, which includes firms connected to regional economic drivers such as: The U. S. Army's Fort Gordon; the U. S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site (SRS) and the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL); and the medical community. The DACC works to identify the needs of those businesses seeking to expand or locate in the county.
Using a variety of marketing, financial, and strategic planning tools, it seeks to recruit quality businessess and a talented workforce and to help retain and expand existing firms in the county, all for the benefit of the county's diverse population.
For detailed information regarding site selection and expansion opportunities, please visit DACC web site.
The current SRSCRO Board member appointed by DACC is
Mr. Mark Wills .
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Nuclear Tourist Diary
Suzy Hobbs Baker writes, "So of course I was left wondering, why is it that when nature heats up water with radioactive materials it's good, but when humans heat up water with radioactive materials it's bad?" Her article continues with a discussion titled Germany's Nuclear Blind Spot - part of Diary of a Nuclear Tourist. So far, her travels include the COVRA interim storage facility in the Netherlands; the research facilities of Mont Terri, Switzerland; the IAEA in Vienna Austria and the World Nuclear Association in the United Kingdom. Suzy offers insight into the innovations and applications of nuclear technology in medicine, agriculture, energy and waste storage with clear language and artistic passion. Suzy Hobbs Baker, an artist and nuclear energy educator, is the founder of PopAtomic Studios and Director of the Nuclear Literacy Project. |
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