The article, “NuScale SMR Technology: An Ideal Solution for Repurposing U.S. Coal Plant Infrastructure and Revitalizing Communities.” by NuScale Power (2021), introduces their NuScale Small Modular Reactor (SMR) as part of their innovative project to create a “modular light water reactor power plants” to replace coal-powered plants by providing power for generating electricity and supplying energy for various applications (NuScale Power, 2021, p. 1). The SMR can produce “77 megawatts of electricity (MWe)” with pressurised water reactor technology that is more secure, compact, and scalable (NuScale Power, 2021, p. 2). The device uses the concept of “buoyancy-driven natural circulation” to move water throughout the reactor without the need for pumps (NuScale Power, 2021, p. 4). With regards to safety, the device has a “fully passive safety system design” ensuring that reactors will shut down safely and “self-cool, indefinitely” without the assistance of an operator or a computer (NuScale Power, 2021, p. 5). With regards to environmental impact, it has a lower output of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and greenhouse gases compared to an average coal power plant (NuScale Power, 2021). Lastly, its compact and modular design allows the size of an SMR power plant to be adjusted by changing the amount of SMR modules it uses based on area constraints and energy requirements, limited to 12 modules, as approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (NuScale Power, 2021). The U.S. should further implement the NuScale SMR because its compact design, enhanced safety features and smaller environmental footprint make it more sustainable and outperform traditional coal power plants.
The NuScale SMR’s compact design keeps the size of a NuScale power plant small. As an example, a typical nuclear energy facility only uses a small area, “requiring about 1.3 square miles [830 acres] per 1,000 megawatts of installed capacity” (Nuclear Energy Institute, 2015, as cited in NuScale Power, 2021, p. 2). In contrast, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), “a wind farm would need an installed capacity between 1,900 megawatts and 2,800 MW to generate the same amount of electricity in a year as a 1,000-MW nuclear energy facility” (NEI, 2015). Meanwhile, NuScale Power states that its “12-module, 924 MWe NuScale plant has an even smaller protected area of 34 acres” (NuScale Power, 2021, p. 2). This information further illustrates that a typical nuclear power plant uses less space than other renewable energy facilities, and a NuScale power plant uses even less space than that. To summarize, the compact nature of NuScale Power’s SMR design ensures that NuScale power plants only occupy a small area while being able to output as much power as other renewable sources of energy.
Secondly, the gas emissions from NuScale SMR power plants are lower compared to traditional coal power plants. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a typical coal power plant emits approximately 1025 grams per kWh (g/kWh) of greenhouse gases while a NuScale power plant only emits about 15g/kWh of greenhouse gases in both of their lifetimes' respectively (IAEA, 2016, p.28, as cited in NuScale Power, 2021). This reduced emission profile is vital as it further advertises the lower environmental impact of nuclear power plants against traditional coal power plants which is crucial in our current timeline as we try to battle climate change. Therefore, the decreased environmental impact portrayed by the NuScale SMR power plants will make them more sustainable when pitted against traditional coal-powered plants.
However, the economic viability of NuScale SMR power plants may make it harder to implement when compared to other renewable energy facilities such as wind farms and solar farms. For instance, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) reported that the projected cost of the 462MW power plant rose from US$5.3 billion to US$9.3 billion (IEEFA, 2023). Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) studied that the average construction costs for wind farms above 200MW were US$1,252 per kW (EIA, 2021). This puts the average 462MW wind farm at US$578.4 million, making it about 93.8% more cost-effective than the NuScale SMR power plant. Therefore, the revolutionised technology of the NuScale SMR is overshadowed by the fact that it is way too expensive to implement in contrast to other renewable sources of energy such as wind.
In conclusion, the innovative technology of the NuScale SMR can prove it to become a sustainable source of energy that can replace coal-powered plants while providing the same amount of power. However, the cost-efficiency of its upcoming projects needs to be further improved to be able to compete with solar farms and wind farms as cost-efficient, low-emission, renewable sources of energy.
References
International Atomic Energy Agency. (2016). Climate change and nuclear power 2016 - IAEA. IAEA. https://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/CCANP16web-86692468.pdf
Mey, A. (2021, July 16). Average U.S. construction costs for solar generation continued to fall in 2019. EIA. https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=48736
Nuclear Energy Institute. (2015, July 9). Land needs for wind, Solar Dwarf Nuclear Plant’s footprint. NEI. https://www.nei.org/news/2015/land-needs-for-wind-solar-dwarf-nuclear-plants
NuScale Power (2021). NuScale Power | Small Modular Reactor (SMR) nuclear technology. NuScale SMR Technology: An Ideal Solution for Repurposing U.S. Coal Plant Infrastructure and Revitalizing Communities.
Schlissel, D. (2023, January 11). Eye-popping new cost estimates released for NuScale Small Modular Reactor. IEEFA. https://ieefa.org/resources/eye-popping-new-cost-estimates-released-nuscale-small-modular-reactor
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