An examination of the pursuit of nuclear power plant construction projects in the United States
Name
823931106-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
4.66 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
3224e4a9153f230f06ebc7bbab1e89ed
Author(s)
Guyer, Brittany (Brittany Leigh)
Advisor(s)
Michael W. Golay.
Date Issued
2011
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
The recent serious reconsideration of nuclear power as a means for U.S. electric utilities to increase their generation capacity provokes many questions regarding the achievable success of future nuclear power plant construction projects. The troublesome nature characterizing much of the history of U.S. nuclear power plant commercialization provides impetus for an examination of the reasons behind the unanticipated outcomes of many nuclear power plant construction projects. An examination of the history of U.S. nuclear power provides for both an understanding of the historical context of the technology, in addition to an acknowledgement of the difficulties that have surrounded its commercialization. This thesis work identifies the factors that have contributed most significantly to the inability of U.S. electric utilities to successfully manage nuclear power plant construction projects. The historical record of these endeavors was used to create a causal-loop diagram. This diagram reflects a generalized decision-making process used by electric utilities when considering the pursuit of nuclear power plant construction. From the results of the diagram, policy changes are proposed that could reduce the susceptibility of the decision-making process to environmental instabilities and increase the overall attractiveness of the technology.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Nuclear Science and Engineering, 2011.
"June 2011." Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 66-67).
Subjects
Nuclear Science and Engineering.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering
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