The nuclear-power-generation future is quietly taking shape, at
least virtually, through the labors of several hundred
scientists and technicians working on the Next Generation
Nuclear Plant (NGNP) project at the Idaho National Laboratory
(INL) in Idaho Falls, ID, and supported by Oak Ridge National
Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN. Scattered through several research
facilities and operating sites, these experts are wrestling with
dozens of questions—from technology evaluations to site
licensing to spent fuels—that accompany any extension of nuclear
power. High-temperature gas-cooled reactor. Image courtesy of
Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The High Temperature Gas-cooled
Reactor (HTGR) being developed by the NGNP project is far more
than an extension: it is a radical step forward for nuclear
power. It will be the first truly new reactor design to go into
commercial service in the U.S. in decades; it is to be up and
running by the mid 2020s, depending on the available investment.
The way forward may not be smooth.