국가전략정보포털

Title page

Contents

Highlights 2

Letter 5

Background 8

New Nuclear Reactor Types 8

DOE Support for New Nuclear Reactor Types 10

DOE Has Made Three Awards Totaling $4.6 Billion to Support the Demonstration of Small Modular and Advanced Reactors 12

DOE Has Made Awards for Three Nuclear Demonstration Projects 12

The Three Demonstration Projects Support DOE's Nuclear Energy Goals 16

DOE Has Taken Several Actions to Manage Risks but Has Not Fully Institutionalized Oversight Plans for Its Nuclear Energy Demonstration Awards 18

DOE Has Managed Risks Using Budget Controls, Milestone Tracking, and Other Procedures 18

DOE Plans to Use Additional Practices to Manage Risks but Has Not Institutionalized These Oversight Mechanisms 20

Conclusions 23

Recommendation for Executive Action 24

Agency Comments 24

Appendix I: Department of Energy (DOE) Support for NuScale, X-energy, and TerraPower 26

Appendix II: Department of Energy (DOE) Management of Awards Compared with Selected Financial Assistance Requirements 27

Appendix III/Appendix V: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 29

Table 1. Summary of Small Modular and Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program Awards 13

Table 2. Department of Energy (DOE) Financial Assistance to Selected Companies for Small Modular and Advanced Reactor Technologies 26

Table 3. Comparison of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Management of Three Small Modular and Advanced Reactor Demonstration Awards with Selected... 27

Figure 1. Traditional Reactors and New Reactor Types 9

Figure 2. Department of Energy Nuclear Energy Demonstration Award Characteristics 15

Figure 3. Key project milestones for the Carbon Free Power Project, NatriumTM Demonstration, and Xe-100 Demonstration, 2020-2030 17

Figure 4. Existing and Planned Project Oversight Processes for Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Energy Demonstration Awards, as of June 2022 23