Laying the Foundation for New and Advanced Nuclear Reactors in the United States (2023) / Chapter Skim
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6 The Challenge of Project Management and Construction
6 The Challenge of Project Management and Construction
Pages 91-120
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From page 91... ...
In addition, projects can often exhibit high levels of risk derived from their often-compressed schedules, inadequate or uncertain budgets, designs that are near the feasible limit of achievable performance, and frequently changing requirements. In contrast to existing light water reactors in the United States and the EPC deployment model that has been used to build them, the smaller-scale and simpler design of many new and advanced reactors presents an opportunity for a highly standardized product-based deployment model whereby many multiple units of the same design are manufactured in a factory.
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From page 92... ...
pilot project, design of onsite facilities, design of manufacturing facilities, completeness of engineering design, and supply chain issues. The next section addresses the construction phase, also describing the potential role of digital technologies, and ends by discussing the life cycle phases of a nuclear project including commissioning.
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From page 93... ...
Klemun, G Kavlak, et al., 2020, "Sources of Cost Overrun in Nuclear Power Plant Construction Call for a New Approach to Engineering Design," Joule 4(11)
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From page 94... ...
Failure to address the workforce challenge for skilled crafts could impact viability of production for some designs; therefore, it must be addressed comprehensively to ensure workforce shortfalls do not limit deployment capacity. Finding 6-1: Significant expansion in the deployment of advanced reactor technologies to achieve decar bonization goals will require concomitant growth in the labor force to support not only the construction and operation of these systems, but also to enable the necessary expansion of supporting fuel and supply chains and regulatory and training networks.
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From page 95... ...
R&D Leads (where applicable) Project Controls Project Controls Manager Lead Cost Engineer Lead Scheduler/Planner QA/QC Manager Procurement Procurement Coordinators Supply Chain Managers Materials Supervisors Contracts Contracts Manager On-site Construction Construction Managers Labor Relations Specialists Environment, Health, and Safety Environmental Lead Permitting Lead Safety Specialist Health Specialist Site Security Advisor Nuclear Regulatory Teama Regulatory Team Lead Regulatory Legal Regulatory Compliance Risk Management Team Risk Analysts Risk Managers (assigned to each identified risk)
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From page 96... ...
Such an entity could undertake responsibility only for construction but perhaps even could evolve into a vehicle by which multiple companies could engage in ownership of projects, reducing the risk to which each is exposed. Second, an advanced reactor manufacturer or vendor could consider forming an equity joint venture or consortium with the plant owner and an EPC firm with nuclear build experience to thereby develop the in-house capabilities to plan, manage, and construct the new reactor installations.
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From page 97... ...
Recommendation 6-3: Department of Energy programs such as the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program should develop criteria that encourage and incentivize all major government-funded nuclear power projects to include a formal collaborative agreement between the reactor vendor and an experi enced development firm to ensure that there is management capacity to complete nuclear construction projects successfully, on budget, and on schedule.
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From page 98... ...
The committee is concerned about the presence of optimism bias in the planning for advanced reactors, based on the discussions with vendors and promoters. Optimism bias does not just afflict the nuclear industry, but other large infrastructure projects as well.
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From page 99... ...
Recommendation 6-4: The plant owner should mandate an independent peer review involving both a quantitative risk assessment and a qualitative review as part of the plant construction project planning process, especially during a first-of-a-kind new build or first building of an existing design BOX 6-3 Elements to Be Considered in the Planning Phase and Incorporated into an Independent Peer Review Although cost and schedule overruns manifest in the construction phase, the issues that introduce risk and contribute to cost and schedule overruns often begin in the planning and engineering phases of the project, and include: 1. Lack of design finalization.
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From page 100... ...
in December 1979 as a response to the Three-Mile Island accident, there was a marked decrease in the yearly O&M cost trend FIGURE 6-2 Nuclear construction cost overruns and constructor experience. SOURCE: Committee generated using data from U.S.
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From page 101... ...
For nuclear construction cost, there is no dedicated organization or vehicle for sharing the knowledge gained across projects and over construction periods. Thus, a similar program for the planning and construction phase of advanced reactors could add value.
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From page 102... ...
In other words, notwithstanding the standardization of the reactor itself and related nuclear components, the remainder of the engineering work could be susceptible to inadequate risk identification and mitigation, challenges posed by individual site conditions, and other requirements that negate the practicality of a standardized design for multiple sites. Given that there are multiple configurations of advanced reactors, and each one may require civil work installations that differ from others, it is recognized that the challenges will vary from reactor design to design.
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From page 103... ...
modular construction techniques" (World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2017)
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From page 104... ...
Similarly, the CCF can be used to identify potential manufacturing-based issues that may manifest at a system integration or operational level. Completeness of Engineering Design Chapter 4 describes the economic challenge facing advanced reactor developers in making initial entry to energy markets, noting that a significant factor that may limit market entry is the anticipated front-end "sunk cost" for nuclear.
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From page 105... ...
. If advanced nuclear developers are to keep capital costs in control, designs must be as complete as possible prior to commencement of construction.
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From page 106... ...
. A recent DOE report titled Nuclear Energy Supply Chain Deep Dive Assessment indicates that the enhancement of the nuclear industry supply chain would have significant positive benefit to the cost of electrical energy production: The next generation of nuclear reactors will likely include small modular reactors (SMRs)
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From page 107... ...
2022) The challenges to development of this supply chain for advanced reactors are multiple.
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From page 108... ...
Part of the reason is apparently that EPC teams tend to over-identify risks associated with the in-house scope of work, but under-identify external risks associated with their external suppliers. Finding 6-7: The supply chain supporting the current fleet of operational nuclear power plants in the United States does not currently have the capacity to provide the unique components necessary for differ ent reactor designs while maintaining sufficient quality, considering the number of builds envisioned by reactor developers.
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From page 109... ...
concepts.14 DE is a systems design approach to use computer technology to integrate the management of a project life cycle. Research at INL has shown that new DE platforms can produce significant impacts in various construction projects, including schedule reductions, productivity increases, and cost avoidance.
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From page 110... ...
DOE also recently funded a new initiative called the Advanced Construction Technology (ACT) Initiative funded in FY 2021 for $5.8 million, which aims to Facilitate development of advanced nuclear plant construction technologies and approaches through partnerships that could provide game changing benefits to the construction of advanced nuclear power plants.
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From page 111... ...
Given that the nuclear island constitutes only 20 percent of the cost of a nuclear plant, there should be recognition of the need to ensure adequate funding to reduce overall construction costs. Table 6-1 shows that the civil work typically comprises 40–50 percent of the cost of current generation nuclear plants, and EPC costs typically comprise 10–20 percent of the total cost; moreover, new and advanced nuclear reactors may require more complex civil work, such as excavation (Glaser 2014)
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From page 112... ...
The preparatory work on the plant site would be similar to that of any major project, starting with planning, then into engineering design specific to the site, and then construction on site of supporting facilities. Various potential advantages and concerns exist for such an approach: • Potential advantages of product-based deployment: ° Standardized design for manufacturing can reduce cost and schedule overruns that would otherwise arise from incomplete or late designs ° Opportunity for improved quality through manufacture in a controlled factory setting 16 Note: These containment checks apply to those technologies that may follow containment designs similar to the existing fleet of light water reactors.
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From page 113... ...
Moutenot, 2020, Roadmap to Operational Readiness: A New Entrant's Guide to Preparing for the Challenge of Safe and Efficient Nuclear Power Plant Operation, New Unit Assistance Working Group, World Association of Nuclear Operators, September 2020. Copyright © 2020 New Unit Assistance Working Group, R
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From page 114... ...
Recommendation 6-9: The Department of Energy should work with the relevant reactor vendors to develop best practices for the pursuit of a product-based approach to reactor deployment. The Manufacturing Approach A primary hypothesis for the vendors of advanced reactors is that they will take advantage of a modular manufacturing approach for development that will help reduce unit cost once market volume supports development at NOAK quantities.
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From page 115... ...
and in many cases had not even gone through a systems level preliminary design review at contract award. Three obvious takeaways for the advanced reactor community related to these cost and schedule challenges in a "manufacturing approach" are (1)
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From page 116... ...
While historical assessments do indicate that a production line approach as seen in shipyard production can lead to cost savings, it is unclear whether this approach will translate to significant cost savings in advanced reactor development because it does not necessarily address site development, which can be a primary cost driver in nuclear deployment. Recommendation 6-10: The Department of Energy should partner with the Department of the Navy and industry to evaluate lessons learned in nuclear shipbuilding to determine the metrics and cost factors that would inform a better understanding of potential cost savings from a manufacturing approach to nuclear new builds.
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From page 117... ...
2022. "Open Session with Advanced Nuclear Reactor Vendors." Presentation to the Committee on Laying the Foundation for New and Advanced Nuclear Reactors in the United States, Meeting 10, February 1–2.
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From page 118... ...
2021. "AI/ML Driven Innovation for High Precision Construction, Inspections, and Management." Presented to the Committee on Laying the Foundation for New and Advanced Nuclear Reactors in the United States, April 6.
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From page 119... ...
2021. "Digital Engineering to Accelerate Advanced Reactor Development." Presentation to the Committee on Laying the Foundation for New and Advanced Nuclear Reactors in the United States, April 6.
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From page 120... ...
https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-15-332t.pdf. World Nuclear Industry Status Report.
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