High-temperature gas-cooled reactor steam cycle/cogeneration: lead project strategy plan

The strategy, contained herein, for developing the HTGR system and introducing it into the energy marketplace is based on using the most developed technology path to establish a HTGR-Steam Cycle/Cogeneration (SC/C) Lead Project. Given the status of the HTGR-SC/C technology, a Lead Plant could be completed and operational by the mid 1990s. While there is remaining design and technology development that must be accomplished to fulfill technical and licensing requirements for a Lead Project commitment, the major barriers to the realization a HTGR-SC/C Lead Project are institutional in nature, e.g. budget priorities and constraints, cost/risk sharing between the public and private sector, Project organization and management, and Project financing. These problems are further complicated by the overall pervading issues of economic and regulatory instability that presently confront the utility and nuclear industries. This document addresses the major institutional issues associated with the HTGR-SC/C Lead Project and provides a starting point for discussions between prospective Lead Project participants toward the realization of such a Project