Up to four times as much land is available to site small nuclear power plants as compared to large plants, according to a study prepared by Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the Department of Energy. Researchers used geographic information system data combined with other tools to develop a new optimization technique. The goal is to help DOE find suitable sites to meet the need for 300 gigawatts of new electricity generation from nuclear power by 2050. The exhaustive optimization process takes into consideration population density, protected lands, terrain, proximity to water, airports, military bases, oil pipelines, refineries and a number of other factors. The same approach is also useful for siting other sources for electrical generation such as wind, solar, clean coal and hydro.
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