[sefarkas]

The NRC does not have the staff or the regulations needed by the staff to evaluate a proposal to site/build a pebble-bed style reactor. It is the same reason that Dominion switched to the GE design for their new reactor once it became clear that the first try with the Canadian design could not be licensed by the NRC in a reasonable time. The AREVA design, e.g., for Calvert Cliffs, is an evolution of the Westinghouse design and is thus more straightforward for the NRC staff to evaluate.

[rlmorel]

I am talking about moving forward.

We do not have a working design right now...nobody really has a working design that could meet the needs we have right now.

But I think we should start right now, and this is something I would not mind seeing my tax dollars being spent on...get money into R&D.

The concept is not difficult. It is solving the technical problems such as the manufacturing of the pebbles.

We should take the initiative on this away from the Chinese, because as it stands, they are likely to do it before us.

We need this technology developed. It is safe by design and can be made modular.

RIght now, build what we can, but we should work towards the next level.