1 / 16

Advancing the Commercialization of Small Modular Reactors

Advancing the Commercialization of Small Modular Reactors . Michael Kurth American Nuclear Society & Washington Internship for Students of Engineering. Benefits of Nuclear Power. Environmental Benefits Greenhouse Gas Emissions Comparable life cycle emissions to renewables Base-load Power

delu
Download Presentation

Advancing the Commercialization of Small Modular Reactors

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Advancing the Commercialization of Small Modular Reactors Michael Kurth American Nuclear Society & Washington Internship for Students of Engineering

  2. Benefits of Nuclear Power • Environmental Benefits • Greenhouse Gas Emissions • Comparable life cycle emissions to renewables • Base-load Power • Capability to provide constant power • Energy Diversity • All of the Above Energy Strategy to Mitigate Fluctuations in Energy Pricing • Nonproliferation • Strong Domestic Nuclear Program Positively Affects Nonproliferation Issues Abroad

  3. 4 Domestic Light Water SMRs Integral Pressurized Water Reactor (iPWR) Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) One Design • 3 Designs B&W NuScale Westinghouse Holtec http://www.generationmpower.com/ http://www.nuscalepower.com/overviewofnuscalestechnology.aspx http://www.westinghousenuclear.com/SMR/Westinghouse_SMR_Brochure.pdf http://www.smrllc.com/safety.html

  4. Economic Advantages of SMRs over traditional nuclear power • Reduced Capital Costs • Larger Nuclear Power Plants can cost as much as 90% of the average annual revenues of a investor owned utility • More Utilities can use Nuclear • Reduced Construction Times • Leads to Faster Return on Investment • Modular • Allows Generation Capability to be Added Incrementally as Demand Increases

  5. Advantages of SMRs over traditional nuclear power • Safety • NuScale’s Indefinite Cooling Scheme http://www.nuscalepower.com/triplecrown.aspx

  6. Advantages of SMRs over traditional nuclear power • Underground Containment http://www.westinghousenuclear.com/SMR/Westinghouse_SMR_Brochure.pdf http://www.nuscalepower.com/reactorbuildingsandbarriers.aspx http://www.generationmpower.com/technology/deployment.asp http://www.smrllc.com/safety.html

  7. Advantages of SMRs over traditional nuclear power • Transportability http://www.westinghousenuclear.com/SMR/Westinghouse_SMR_Brochure.pdf http://www.nuscalepower.com/small.aspx

  8. Possible Areas of SMR Application

  9. Roadblocks to SMR Deployment • Economic Issues Vs. http://www.wikinvest.com/wiki/Economies_of_scale http://www.eenews.net/assets/2013/03/13/document_gw_01.pdf Economy of Scale Economy of Mass Production

  10. Roadblocks to SMR Deployment • Licensing Issues • Security Staffing • Operator Staffing • Emergency Planning Zones

  11. Roadblocks to SMR Deployment • Export Process http://ita.doc.gov/td/energy/Civil%20Nuclear%20Exporters%20Guide%20(FINAL).pdf

  12. Program in Place to Assist in SMR deployment • DOE Funding Program • 2012 Initiated a 5 year 452 Million Dollar Program • Focused on design certification and licensing, but not construction • B&W Received first award for $150 million • Expected Deployment in 2022 • 2013 Initiated a Second Round of SMR Funding • Extended Timeline to 2025 • Received applications from other three vendors • Focuses on innovation and design certification

  13. Additional Assistance and Policies Needed to Promote Successful Commercialization • Domestic Policies • Increase DOE Funding to Initial Announcement Levels • $150 million awarded to B&W increased to $226 million • Extend Timeline for Advanced Energy Credits for Manufacturers • Timeline is currently too short to properly allow for SMR manufacturing facility to take advantage of program • Government Facilities Act as a ‘First Mover’ • Power Purchase Agreements Allow Utilities to substantially reduce risk

  14. Additional Assistance and Policies Needed to Promote Successful Commercialization • Export Policies • Allow 123 Agreements to be made case by case • There are factions calling for all 123 Agreements to require identical terms regarding reprocessing and enrichment capabilities • DOE modifications of Part 810 • Continue discussions with industry to ensure specific and appropriate scope of Part 810 • Create a Transparent Export Process • DOE does not have a modern system to follow the progress of export applications

  15. Conclusion • Nuclear Energy has environmental, energy diversity, and nonproliferation positive effects • SMRs have added benefits over traditional nuclear power, which include added safety, reduced capital costs, and modularity • There are several marketplaces that have potential for SMRs but also have issues that must be overcome • Due to the nature of the economy of SMRs measures must be put in place to help assist with the initial lack of cost competitiveness • The Licensing Issues are in many cases onetime costs and the DOE should continue its support of resolution • The Export process should be streamlined and modernized to ensure timely deployment of SMR exports in the face of international competition.

  16. Questions?

More Related