Journal of Critical Infrastructure Policy
necessary to incorporate the goals of achieving these rNPP attributes and functional requirements . Maximum use of public / private sector cost sharing , federal innovation prizes , and tax incentives can be effective mechanisms to accelerate progress in development and demonstration of rNPPs and rCIIs by all parties .
Conclusions
Twenty-first century society is reliant on the continuous flow of electricity from the point of generation to end use . The system for generating and delivering that electricity to consumers is the Grid , arguably the most complex human-engineered system . Most U . S . Critical Infrastructure and Strategic Asset Supply Chains are completely dependent on the Grid . The current world is replete with natural hazards and human threats that could trigger wide-spread , long-term Grid disruption , with resulting CI and SASC failures that are difficult to bound . Such events pose an existential threat to our way of life . Every citizen and every institution is a stakeholder in Grid resilience .
The Grid has evolved into a system optimized for delivery of low-cost electricity in a context of stable social , cultural , and natural environments with somewhat predictable natural calamities and limited human threats . We now know that major natural disasters of continental and regional scope are more likely than once believed . At the same time , the ability of malevolent human agents to inflict Grid damage is expanding . A key to national survival in such events , and regional recovery from less-extreme scenarios , is to substantially enhance Grid resilience . Again , a resilient Grid is one that has the ability to anticipate , absorb , adapt to , recover from such disruptions , and rapidly restore electricity service to essential societal functions . Recognizing its essential , life sustaining roles , Grid resilience must be considered a “ local ” end-user issue . A Grid that is optimized to deliver the lowest cost electricity is unlikely to deliver the most resilient electricity supply .
Nuclear power has the potential to play a unique enabling role in achieving the level of Grid resilience needed for the remainder of the 21 st Century . The development and deployment of resilient Nuclear Power Plants ( rNPPs ) and resilient Critical Infrastructure Islands ( rCIIs ) anchored by rNPPs , could transform Grid , CI , SASC , and societal resilience in an uncertain world . Current trends in nuclear power plant design suggest evolution towards more resilient NPPs . There are many technical , economic , regulatory , and policy barriers to achieving the levels of Grid resilience needed to secure public health and welfare , economic prosperity and national defense objectives . Steps should be taken on an expedited basis to further examine and to potentially deploy the use of rNPPs and rCIIs to enhance U . S . Grid , CI , and SASC resilience .
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