Requirements for 21st centry nuclear power plants

The development of energy production in the 21st century will be subject to more uniform per capita and regional consumption. Among the competing sources of energy, the positive qualities of nuclear power-unlimited fuel resources, high energy intensiveness, and ecological compatibility with the possibility of the wastes being highly concentrated—predetermine the development of large-scale nuclear power. The conditions for the development of such nuclear power are its ecological effectiveness and safety (of the reactors and the fuel cycle with the production of wastes), nuclear fuel breeding with adequate characteristics, and guarantees of nonproliferation of fissioning materials. Continuity in the development of nuclear power dictates the requirements for reactor systems in the near and distant future. The acceptable level of safety is closely related to the scales of nuclear power and the applications of nuclear energy sources. However, progress in decreasing the potential danger of reactors and decreasing the cost of protective systems is unavoidable. In choosing new directions, it is important to demonstrate the new qualities in the solution of the problems facing nuclear power in the future. An adequate diversity of reactor technologies could exist in the future. The requirements that will face nuclear power plants in the future stages of development and the expected stages of this development are discussed. The jourmal variant of this report at the 10th annual conference of the Nuclear Society “From the first nuclear power plant in the world to power engineering of the twenty-first century” (June 28–July 2, 1999, Obninsk) Russian Science Center “Kurchatov Institute”. Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 88, No. 1, pp. 3–14, January, 2000.