Small Modular Reactors

Companies mentioned: University of Chicago (EPIC), DOE, NRC, Minerals Council of Australia, Oconee NPP, Duke Energy, Exelon Generation, Limerick Unit 2, EDF, Eon, RWE and the NDA

Nuclear Energy Insider Policy and Commission Update 8 – 14 December 2011

Small reactors could figure into US energy policy

A newly released study from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) has assessed that small modular reactors may hold the key to the future of US nuclear power generation.

The economic viability of small modular reactors will depend partly on how quickly manufacturers can learn to build them efficiently, the report said.

SMRs are appealing for markets that could not easily accommodate gigawatt-scale plants, such as those currently served by aging, 200- to 400-megawatt coal plants, which are likely to be phased out during the next decade, said Robert Rosner, institute director and the William Wrather Distinguished Service Professor in Astronomy & Astrophysics.

An unknown factor that will affect the future of these plants would be the terms of any new clean-air regulations that might be enacted in the next year.

“It would be a huge stimulus for high-valued job growth, restore US leadership in nuclear reactor technology and, most importantly, strengthen US. leadership in a post-Fukushima world, on matters of nuclear safety, nuclear security, nonproliferation, and nuclear waste management,” the report said.

The reports assessed the economic feasibility of classical, gigawatt-scale reactors and the possible new generation of modular reactors. The latter would have a generating capacity of 600 megawatts or less, would be factory-built as modular components, and then shipped to their desired location for assembly.

It would now cost $4,210 per kilowatt to build a new gigawatt-scale reactor, according to the new report. This cost is approximately $2,210 per kilowatt higher than the 2004 estimate because of commodity price changes and other factors.

Natural gas would be the chief competitor of nuclear power generated by SMRs. “We’re talking about natural gas prices not today but 10, 15 years from now when these kinds of reactors could actually hit the market.”

The US Department of Energy funded the reports through Argonne, which is operated by UChicago Argonne. The principal authors of the report were Rosner and Stephen Goldberg, special assistant to Argonne’s director.

Australia energy policy could reconsider nuclear

Minerals Council of Australia acting chief executive Brendan Pearson said a recently published draft energy white paper provided a "sound basis" for a much-needed national debate about the future of energy policy.

According to a report on The Australian, the paper had recognised the fundamental role that coal and uranium would continue to play in Australia's export profile over the next three decades.

"Importantly, the draft paper also canvasses the prospect that a future Australian government may need to adopt nuclear energy in order to meet emissions reductions targets," Pearson said.

Senator Milne said climate and energy policy were "on a direct collision course", according to the report and accused Ferguson of having a bias against renewable energy.

Business groups backed the policy, according to the report, with the Business Council of Australia saying that if Australia were to maintain its competitive advantages after years of low-cost energy it had to pursue the most cost-effective energy sources and could not afford to limit its options.

"Technologies such as nuclear are an important consideration in determining the optimal mix of demand and supply-side technologies," BCA chief executive Jennifer Westacott said.

Oconee electrical breaker causes safety concern

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has determined that electrical breakers installed in a key safety system would not have functioned during certain scenarios at the Oconee nuclear plant, representing a finding of “substantial safety significance” that will result in increased NRC inspection and oversight of the facility.

The three-unit plant is operated by Duke Energy near Seneca, South Carolina, 30 miles west of Greenville.

NRC inspection findings are evaluated using a safety significance scale with four levels, ranging from “green” for minor significance, through “white” and “yellow” to “red” for high significance.

The NRC concluded that one of two violations at Oconee related to the electrical breakers is “yellow,” having “substantial safety significance,” while the second violation is “green,” having “very low safety significance.”

Limerick has inadequate feedwater plan

The Exelon Generation operated Limerick Unit 2 nuclear power plant will receive additional oversight from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission following the finalization of a “White” (low to moderate safety significance) inspection finding for the Pennsylvania facility.

The inspection finding involves inadequate procedures related to the operation of two main feedwater system valves, said an NRC statement.

During a Limerick Unit 2 start-up on April 22, 2011, the valves failed to fully close, resulting in one of the plant’s safety systems, known as the Reactor Core Isolation Cooling (RCIC) system, being inoperable from April 23 to May 23, 2011.

Specifically, the partially open valves created a flow path that would have prevented the majority of water flow from the RCIC system from reaching the reactor during an accident and thereby helping to mitigate the event.

French nuclear site security policies to be reviewed

EDF and the larger French nuclear sector will be reviewing their on-site security and trespassing policies following two incidents created by Greenpeace activists this month.

According to a Business Week report, nine Greenpeace activists cut through a fence at the Nogent-sur-Seine atomic plant 95 kilometers (59 miles) southeast of Paris and headed for a domed reactor building.

The report said that they scaled the roof and unfurled a “Safe Nuclear Doesn’t Exist” banner before attracting the attention of security guards.

Later that same day, two more campaigners breached the perimeter of the Cruas-Meysse plant on the Rhone, escaping detection for more than 14 hours while posting videos of their sit-in on the internet.

Germany’s nuclear phase out to cull talent

Despite Germany Chancellor Merkel’s estimations that the country’s new energy policy will create more jobs than will be lost, thousands of nuclear energy specialists will be out of a job.

Areva said earlier this week that it would cut over 1,200 jobs in Germany as part of a plan to cut costs caused by the shrinking demands for nuclear power, which produces more than 22 per cent of Germany’s electricity supply, second to coal, which produces 42 per cent.

EON and RWE will also make substantial job cuts due to the government's abandonment of nuclear energy.

NDA looking for CEO replacement

The process for selecting a new CEO for the UK’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is “progressing well”, according to a NDA news brief.

Tony Fountain leaves the NDA at the end of December and David Batters, NDA's Chief Financial Officer, will assume the responsibility of Accounting Officer and Acting Chief Executive until a new CEO is in place.