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Orlando, FL|Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld
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New laws offer nuclear industry incentives for existing power plant uprates
This year, the U.S. nuclear industry received a much-needed economic boost that could help preserve operating nuclear power plants and incentivize upgrades that extend their lifespan and power output.
Signed into law in 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act offers production tax credits (PTCs) for existing nuclear power plants and either PTCs or investment tax credits (ITCs) for new carbon-free generation. These credits could make power uprates—increasing the maximum power level at which a commercial plant may operate—a much more appealing option for utilities.
Paul G. Lorenzini, Alan H. Robinson
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 44 | Number 1 | April 1971 | Pages 27-36
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE71-A18902
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The spectral-synthesis method is investigated to assess its applicability for solving the diffusion equation in fast reactor design. The equations are derived so they may be solved by a standard diffusion theory code that allows upscattering. A reference 1000-MW(e) fast reactor is studied and two-dimensional solutions are obtained. The problem of selecting trial functions is examined and four different sets are used in the calculations. The results are compared with few-group calculations to test both accuracy and running times. The few-group and synthesis approximations are, in turn, compared with a 26-group solution which is treated as an exact solution. Some numerical instabilities are experienced and examined. It is concluded that the instabilities are caused by a complete coupling between equations in the scattering matrix. The accuracy of the synthesis approximation is comparable with the few-group approximation for calculating eigenvalues and is slightly superior for determining the flux in the core.