KNOXVILLE - U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander is promoting the idea of building a small nuclear reactor to power operations at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Alexander, a Republican, said during a Senate hearing late last month that a 125-megawatt reactor could help the federal Department of Energy meet nearly half of the agency's 2020 target for reducing greenhouse gases.
"I'm wondering if your own departmental goals for greenhouse gases and the interest in small modular reactors might offer a way to accelerate pilot programs to see how they work?" Alexander asked Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
Chu said the site once considered for a breeder reactor at Oak Ridge is "waiting and ready to be used."
ORNL Director Thom Mason told The Knoxville News Sentinel that Alexander's proposal could serve as a pilot project but the idea is still in the brainstorming stage.
He estimated the cost at $500 million to $800 million.
Small reactors take less time to build and can be supplemented with more identical units as power needs grow.
Mason said the process of getting a small reactor through the approval process at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission could provide an example for others in the nuclear power industry to use to get more reactors on line in less time.
A 125-megawatt reactor could supply electricity for all of DOE's Oak Ridge operations, including ORNL and the Y-12 National Security Complex, Mason said.
"We're a research facility. I'm not sure it would make sense for us to get into the power business," Mason said. "You'd have to have an owner-operator and then a vendor who has a design."
Babcock & Wilcox, a company involved in management of Y-12, is among firms that have advocated for design plans for small, modular nuclear reactors.