(1) Termination of the project prior to the end of the term specified in c. above may be effected only in accordance with certain criteria. There will be no unilateral right on the part of PMC, CE, TVA, or BRC to terminate the project. The bases for termination will include (i) failure to secure any necessary governmental permit, authorization or approval required for the construction or operation of the demonstration plant or exemption therefrom, despite the best efforts of TVA and ERDA, (ii) nonsatisfaction of the conditions mentioned in a. above, (iii) despite the best efforts of TVA and ERDA, nonobtainment of indemnification coverage under or substantially comparable to that now provided by Section 170 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, (iv) insufficiency of project funds to permit the effective conduct of the project, including anticipated commitments and contingencies, (v) prevention of proceeding to conclusion with the project by a final court injunction or administrative order, (vi) for technical or environmental reasons it is concluded that the essential project objectives cannot be attained, or (vii) failure to reach agreement on significant changes in approved reference design. (j) All applicable laws and regulations, including those pertaining to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing and regulations, will be complied with. (k) A mutually agreeable procedure for resolving disagreements will be specified in the PMC-ERDA contract. (1) The presently estimated cost of the demonstration plant is shown in Attachment A hereto. This estimate will be subject to revision from time to time to the extent additional information indicates that such revisions are appropriate. Development, systems engineering, prototype, testing and plant operations Furnished special nuclear material. Utility contributions__-- Expected contributions from reactor manufacturers... Total estimated project resources_. 1, 736 1, 092 366 10 258 10 1, 736 1 Escalation based on an average annual rate of 8 percent; estimate in 1974 dollars. B. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED PROJECT 1. PRINCIPAL UNDERLYING AIMS (a) This demonstration plant project is an indispensable part of ERDA's overall, long-range LMFBR research and development program which has as a major objective the development of the LMFBR concept to the stage of commercial usefulness. (b) ERDA's base LMFBR program is and will be important to the success of this demonstration plant project. (c) The construction and demonstration-operation of the LMFBR demonstration plant on an electric utility system will help demonstrate the potential value and environmental desirability of the LMFBR concept as a practical future source of electric power and provide valuable information, data, and experience. 2. LOCATION TVA will make available, for the site of the demonstration plant, a portion of a tract of land (now owned by TVA) near Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on the Clinch River. The land is on a peninsula located in Roane County on the north bank of Watts Bar Lake; it borders on the boundary of ERDA's Oak Ridge property. The tract encompasses an area of approximately 1364 acres. The demonstration plant will be located in a manner permitting possible future power plant additions on the tract. 3. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE DEMONSTRATION PLANT The LMFBR demonstration plant will be an integrated electric power plant and will include (a) a liquid sodium cooled reactor and steam generation system; (b) a steam turbine driven electric generation system; (c) heat rejection system; (d) electrical switch yard; and (e) related auxiliaries and supporting structures and facilities. The overall steam cycle will be similar to that of modern conventional steam-electric power plants. Design guidelines for the demonstration plant stress maximum use of existing technology to reduce technical risks and assure safe, reliable operation. The plant will be designed to operate reliably, safely and with minimum environmental effects in compliance with these guidelines. The design effort will be supported by a strong research and development program with significant emphasis on prooftesting. Major objectives will be to (1) demonstrate the technical performance, reliability, maintainability, safety, environmental acceptability and economic feasibility in a utility environment of an LMFBR central electric power station and (2) confirm the value of this concept for conserving important non-renewable natural resources. Accordingly, the manner in which the demonstration plant is operated, after the initial period of start-up and testing, will be as similar as practicable to the commercial LMFBR plants that are expected to be in operation in the 1980's. 4. CHANGES OR SUPPLEMENTS The ERDA reserves the right, without qualification, to change or supplement these criteria in writing, at any time or times, as it may deem appropriate in the best interests of the Project. The specific design for the first demonstration plant has been selected and it is expected that the following several approximate design parameters will be included: Reactor power (MWt). Net electric power (MWe). Primary system type- Number of primary loops‒‒‒ Reactor outlet temperature (°F). Reactor vessel boundary temperature (°F). 1,000 350-400 Loop 3 1,000 900 REPORT TO THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON ATOMIC ENERGY CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES Comments On Energy Research BY THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES RED-75-361 This report is in response to your letter of March 14, 1975, asking us to evaluate certain proposed legislation submitted by the Energy Research and Development Administration on March 10, 1975, to the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy. This proposed legislation involves major revisions to the authorization for the Clinch River Breeder Reactor Demonstration (CRBR) plant project along with proposed changes to the existing underlying documents governing the project. We reviewed the proposed legislation and underlying documents submitted to the Joint Committee. Our review focused on changes the Energy Research and Development Administration is proposing to the existing documents. We held discussions with Administration representatives knowledgeable of, and responsible for, preparing the proposed legislation and other documents. The major changes being proposed as well as the concerns we have are described in the enclosure. Our major observations regarding the proposed legislation and underlying documents are: --An additional criterion is being added to the arrange- --The Administration's intent is to assume responsibil- |