United States of America
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (Updated 2014) 1. GENERAL INFORMATION The United States of America's (U.S.) nuclear power industry is the largest in the world. Of the 104 operating reactors in the United States in 2012, 4 reactors were permanently shut down in 2013. In 2013, the United States generated an estimated 789 net terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity from 100 nuclear reactors. France, the second largest producer in the world, generated about half that amount. The industry includes most phases of the fuel cycle, from uranium exploration and mining to nuclear waste disposal, but does not include reprocessing. Many services and supplies to the U.S. nuclear power industry are imported. Most of the U.S. nuclear power industry is privately owned and managed, although federal, state, municipal, and regional agencies own and manage nine reactors and have partial ownership of other reactors. 1.1. Country Overview 1.1.1 Governmental System The United States is a constitutional federal republic, consisting of fifty states, one federal district, three territories, and two commonwealths. The federal government is composed of three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The executive branch is led by the President. The legislative branch is composed of a bicameral Congress, which includes the Senate and House of Representatives. The judicial branch includes the Supreme Court as well as lower federal courts. 1.1.2 Geography and Climate The United States extends over the midsection of North America, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean plus Alaska and Hawaii. The three inhabited territories are found in the Caribbean Sea (U.S. Virgin Islands) and in the Pacific Ocean (American Samoa and Guam). The two inhabited commonwealths are found in the Caribbean Sea (Puerto Rico) and in the Pacific Ocean (Northern Mariana Islands). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the total area of the United States is over 3.5 million square miles (9.1 million square kilometers). Climate varies greatly across the nation. Average annual temperatures range from 9 degrees Fahrenheit (-13 degrees Celsius) in Barrow, Alaska to 78 degrees Fahrenheit (26 degrees Celsius) in Death Valley, California. Rainfall varies from less than 2 inches annually at Death Valley to about 460 inches at Mount Waialeale in Hawaii. Most of the United States has seasonal temperature changes and moderate precipitation. The Midwest, Middle Atlantic states, and New England states experience warm summers and cold, snowy winters. Summers are long, hot, and often humid in the South while winters are mild. Along the Pacific coast, and in some other areas near large bodies of water, the climate is relatively mild all year. Hawaii is tropical and Alaska is arctic. 1 FIGURE 1. MAP OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1.1.3 Population The U.S. population in 2013 was estimated to be 316.4 million people. According to the latest estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. population is expected to cross the 400 million mark in 2051 and reach 420.3 million in 2060. In addition, the proportion of the population younger than age 18 is expected to change little between 2012 and 2060, but the proportion of the population age 65 and older is expected to more than double during that same time. Table 1 shows historical population growth statistics. 2 TABLE 1. POPULATION INFORMATION Average Annual Year 1970 1980 1990 2000 2005 2013 Growth Rate 2000 - 2013 Population 205.1 227.2 249.5 282.2 295.5 316.4 0.89% (millions)(1) Population Density 21.9 24.2 25.4 28.7 30.0 32.1 0.86% (inhabitants/km2) Urban Population as 74% 74% 78% 79% 81% 81% 0.16% % of Total(2) Area (1000 km2)(3) 9,372.6 9,372.6 9,809.1 9,826.6 9,857.3 9,857.3 0.02% (1) Population values reflect estimates on 1 July of each year; estimates include Resident Population Plus Armed Forces Overseas. (2) Urban population as % of total for 1979 and 1980 reflect an obsolete methodology that has since been revised by the U.S. Census Bureau; values for 2005 and 2013 are for 2010. (3) Area includes land and water; values for 2005 and 2013 are for 2010. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. 1.1.4 Economic Data Economic statistics for the United States are regularly published by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis. Table 2 shows historical Gross Domestic Product (GDP) statistics. The estimated GDP for 2013 was USD16.8 trillion. Over the last 13 years, real GDP has grown at an annual rate of about 1.76%. This growth rate reflects the major recession that began in the last quarter of 2007 and ended in the second quarter of 2009. TABLE 2. GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) Average Annual Year 1970 1980 1990 2000 2005 2013 Growth Rate 2000 – 2013 GDP (millions of 1,075,900 2,862,500 5,979,600 10,289,700 13,095,400 16,799,700 3.84% current USD) GDP (millions of 3,863,346 5,276,530 7,325,429 10,289,700 11,657,598 12,907,001 1.76% 2000 USD) GDP per capita NA NA NA NA NA NA NA (PPP USD/capita)(1) GDP per capita (current 5,247 12,598 23,970 36,467 44,314 53,091 2.93% USD/capita) (1) Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. 1.2. Energy Information The United States has a market-driven economy. Decisions affecting resources, prices, technology development, and other matters pertaining to energy are primarily made by the private sector within the context of government laws and regulations. Federal and local governments encourage the development and use of selected energy resources through funding of research and development, tax allowances, service charges, regulations, and demonstration projects. Many of the main features of federal energy policy are established by 3 the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT1992) and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT2005). Section 3.2.1 provides a more complete list of the federal laws that impact nuclear power. These federal laws establish energy efficiency standards, nuclear power incentives, alternate fuels development, and renewable energy incentives. Energy statistics and projections for the United States are published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). EIA is the statistical and analytical agency within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). EIA collects, analyzes, and disseminates independent and impartial energy information to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, and public understanding regarding energy and its interaction with the economy and the environment. EIA is the nation’s premier source of energy information and, by law, its data, analyses, and forecasts are independent of approval by any other officer or employee of the U.S. Government. A complete list of reports and publications produced by EIA are available at www.eia.gov/reports/. 1.1.5 Estimated Available Energy The United States has the largest estimated recoverable reserves of coal in the world and has enough estimated recoverable reserves of coal to last more than 200 years, based on current production levels. Coal is produced in 25 states spread across three major coal-producing regions. In 2012, approximately 70% of production originated in five states: Wyoming, West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. U.S. crude oil and lease condensate proved reserves rose for the fourth consecutive year in 2012, increasing by 15% to 4,556 million metric tons, according to the U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Proved Reserves (2012) report released in 2014 by EIA. U.S. crude oil and lease condensate proved reserves were the highest since 1976, and the 2012 increase of 614 million metric tons was the largest annual increase since 1970, when 1,405 million metric tons of Alaskan crude oil were added to U.S. proved reserves. Contributing factors to higher crude oil reserves include increased exploration for liquid hydrocarbons, improved technology for developing tight oil plays, and sustained high historical crude oil prices. Proved reserves of U.S. wet natural gas decreased 7.5% in 2012. Proved reserves are estimated volumes of hydrocarbon resources that analysis of geologic and engineering data demonstrates with reasonable certainty5 are recoverable under existing economic and operating conditions. Total discoveries of oil and natural gas proved reserves both exceeded U.S. production in 2012, with the largest discoveries occurring onshore within the Lower 48 states. The 2012 decline interrupted a 14-year trend of consecutive increases in natural gas proved reserves. U.S. proved reserves of natural gas declined in 2012 because of low natural gas prices. Despite the drop in natural gas proved reserves in 2012, U.S. natural gas production increased about 6% from 2011 to 2012. Shale natural gas is a type of unconventional natural gas where a shale formation is both the source rock and the producing reservoir. Proved reserves of U.S. shale natural gas declined in 2012, a 2% drop from 2011. Estimated production of shale natural gas increased 30% in 2012. Uranium reserves are estimated quantities of uranium in known mineral deposits of such size, grade, and configuration that the uranium could be recovered at or below a specified production cost (forward cost) with currently proven mining and processing technology and under current law and regulations. Forward costs include the costs for power and fuel, labor, materials, insurance, severance and ad valorem taxes, and applicable administrative costs. The forward costs used to estimate U.S. uranium ore reserves are independent of the price at which uranium produced from the estimated reserves might be sold in the commercial market.