Summary
- There is revival of interest in small and simpler units for generating electricity from nuclear power, and for process heat.
- The interest is driven both by a desire to reduce capital costs and to provide power away from large grid systems.
- The technologies involved are very diverse.The size range considered is 100 megawatts and 300 megawatts. They would be mostly marketed to developing nations where the transmission grids cannot handle the larger, 1,000-3,000 megawatt systems.
Analysis
Countrywise Initiatives: SA, US and China
As far as small reactor development is concerned the most prominent modular project is the South African-led consortium developing the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor of of 170 MWe. In China, Chinergy is preparing to build a similar unit, the 195 MWe HTR-PM. A US-led group is developing another design with 285 MWe modules driving a gas turbine directly, using helium as a coolant and operating at very high temperatures. All three are high-temperature reactors which build on the experience of several innovative reactors in the 1960s and 1970s.
India leads the way
Also in the small reactor category is the Indian 220 MWe Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) based on Canadian technology. This design is well-established and India is now focusing on 450 MWe and 700 MWe versions of it.
Companies in Action
Companies such as B&W, Westinghouse, Sandia Lab and NuScale are developing smaller, light water reactors that have been proven safe, reliable and productive and which have already passed regulatory tests. In all cases, the reactors could be scaled up as the needs of a society would grow.
According to the Sandia lab, they are developing smaller reactors which would be factory built and mass-assembled, with potential production of 50 a year. They would all have the exact same design, allowing for easier licensing and deployment than large-scale facilities. Mass production will keep the costs down to between $250 million and $500 million per unit.
It is reported that Babcock & Wilcox, which is producing its own reactor, says that "the first ones could come on line in 2018". Both B&W and Sandia have declared that such units would be cost effective to not just build but to also operate. The right-sized reactors breed fuel as they operate. They are designed to be refueled a few times during its projected 60-year lifespan. At the same time, the reactor system would have no need for fuel handling, all of which helps to alleviate proliferation concerns. Conventional nuclear power plants in the U.S. have their reactors refueled once every 18 to 24 months.
Can we have a right sized reactor soon?
The right-sized reactor's genesis comes from the high cost of cement and steel -- the raw materials that go into power plant construction -- along with the developing world's need to provide electricity to its citizens. If their economies expand, they would then be able to enhance the capacity of the smaller units. China, for example, is using American know-how to build a 195-megawatt plant.
Future is for Small!
The safety, environmental, regulatory and financial hurdles surrounding the construction of new nuclear plants might be circumvented if we are able to commercialize smaller, less controversial reactors. Such efficient units could be built and shipped at a fraction of the time and money than the much bigger base-load facilities.
Himadri Banerji consults with leading institutions through GLG
Analyses are solely the work of the authors and have not been edited or endorsed by GLG.
