November 1, 2010

Are Smaller Reactors Better?

By Kennedy Maize

Is a paradigm shift—an economic and engineering earthquake—in nuclear power plant design on the horizon? For most of the past 50 years, the mantra in planning new nuclear plants has been “bigger is better.” But a growing number of nuclear power engineers and designers are contemplating a world where small is beautiful.

In the 1960s and 1970s—the heyday of new nuclear plants in the U.S.—nuclear plant size marched steadily upward, from 100 MW to 300 MW to 1,000 MW. That trend remains dominant. Most of the new designs of the 21st century that are part and radioactive parcel of the “nuclear renaissance” are even bigger than their ancestors. Westinghouse’s offering, the AP1000, is scaled at 1,154 MWe, while the General Electric ABWR ranges from 1,350 MW to 1,460 MW. AREVA’s EPR is rated at 1,650 MW.

Nuclear Upstarts

But the once-heretical notion that small is beautiful is gaining technical and political traction in the nuclear power industry, as firms find that building conventional 1,000-MW and larger plants presents severe financing, licensing, and construction obstacles. Within a two-week period last June, The Energy Daily held a webinar on small, modular reactors and Platts, along with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), held a well-attended (250 by one estimate) 1.5-day conference on the topic at Washington’s tony Mandarin Oriental Hotel, at a price of $1,500 a head.

At the ELECTRIC POWER Conference & Exhibition in Baltimore last May, the session on small and modular nuclear power plants was the most-attended session in the nuclear track. Although bigger designs still capture the most serious industry attention, interest in smaller designs appears to be growing substantially. If the advocates of smaller, modular win the argument, the nuclear future will look far different than what was envisioned just a couple of years ago.

Small, modular reactor technology is getting noticed by the DOE. Out of its fiscal 2011 nuclear energy budget of $912 million, small modular reactors are slated for $39 million.

According to Richard Black, who runs the DOE office of advanced reactor concepts, the DOE defines small, modular reactors as “those reactor designs that are smaller or equal to 300 MWe and fabricated in modules that are transportable from the factory to the site by rail, truck, or barge.”