3. Advanced nuclear power

How can we make use of nuclear power safely for energy generation?

Body: In most parts of the world, nuclear power is a source of fear and mistrust due to its catastrophic history and tendencies. A major incident occurred in Japan in 2011 when a 15-meter tsunami struck the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Fukushima, leading to the meltdown of the nuclear reactors and the release of a massive amount of highly radioactive nuclear fuel which spread across the entire state of Fukushima. As a result, it is said that Fukushima would be uninhabitable because of the high levels of radioactivity still present in the atmosphere. However, the power plants commonly known to many, and used in this example are the large nuclear power plants. Today, we will be discussing a different option we could potentially make use of.

Body: The bright side of any power plant is that it can generate large amounts of clean electricity. Nuclear energy has been the single largest source of carbon-free energy used in the United States. More than 50% of the energy used in the United States as of 2018 was nuclear-generated. Hence, nuclear energy actually makes a good candidate for producing large amounts of clean energy. In order to take full advantage of this lifeline safely, we can use SMRs that address the downsides of traditional power plants such as safety concerns, costs, construction time, etc while producing the same effect.

Body: Nuclear power plants generate zero-emissions clean energy through fission, which produces energy by splitting uranium atoms from each other. The energy, in the form of heat, is used to create steam that spins a turbine to generate electricity, while not producing any harmful byproducts. We have been producing nuclear energy since 1954 and has been widely considered to be a stable and carbon-friendly energy source that can be used to support electricity demands.

Body: In 2019, it accounted to be 10.3% of the world’s electricity generation, which is quite a lot considering its lower adoption rate compared to other energy sources. Small Modular Reactors are a type of nuclear reactor that only takes up 1% of the space of a conventional reactor, and generates 300MW of energy or less. They are also small enough to fit in trucks and shipping containers.

Body: SMRs can be manufactured in factories with standardized designs, unlike big conventional power plants that have to be built on site, and would take you a way longer period of time to build. There are also higher chances during the construction of big power plants to be hit with delays, costing even more. Individual models are assembled in factories which would then be transported to the operating location to be installed. This cuts cost and substantially reduce construction time because of the ability of mass production and modularity (the quality of being able to be built in factories). Modularity allows companies to begin with one module but replicate and expand numbers over time as demand increases.

Body: The key feature that gives us hope in starting to adopt more nuclear power in the future is safer choices of nuclear power plants. Conventional nuclear power plants are complex buildings that rely on external systems to operate such as AC power, backup generators, and batteries to cool down the reactor’s fuel in the case of a power loss. If something in the design does not operate as it should, it might become very dangerous. These active safety systems are controlled by humans with the help of monitors, computers, etc.

Body: In Fukushima, the primary factor behind the nuclear explosion was the 2011 tsunami, which disabled all human-controlled systems. Thus, they were unable to control and implement any preventive measures. In contrast, Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) employ passive safety mechanisms that make use of physics principles to cool down and automatically deactivate the reactor prior to the accumulation of excessive heat and pressure.

Body: An example of this would be the use of the convection process. There is a built-in water reservoir on the sides of the outer vessel which removes heat from the core by absorbing it, and steam produced will then be released by valves from the top which would then be cooled in a compartment before condensing and flowing back down into the core to cool the core again.

Body: The technology used in passive safety systems usually requires no power source and no need for human intervention during the case of an accident. Though SMRs only generate 1/3 of the amount of energy generated by a big traditional power plant, it gives us the safety and security to start using more nuclear energy to generate more clean energy.

Body: For the widespread adoption of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) to become feasible, economic viability is crucial. Nuscale, one of the leading companies working on SMR projects aims to compete with cheap natural gas in the economy. Nuscale is trying to make their SMRs economically competitive by cost reductions during construction, streamlining manufacturing processes, and making use of the inherent advantages of modularity in their design. Notably, SMRs offer a clean and stable supply of energy, in contrast to natural gas which not only contributes to environmental pollution but also experiences price fluctuations driven by demand and supply dynamics. SMRs are also definitely more cost-effective when compared to conventional nuclear plants. The Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah published a report with projections for Nuscale’s reactor at $65/MWh, while new conventional nuclear plants at an average of $163.5/MWh. This represents a substantial nearly 50% reduction in cost, a considerable achievement when dealing with big figures. The simpler design of SMRs also allows lower construction costs since they require fewer safety systems, equipment, and infrastructure. Less maintenance is also required as SMRs have way longer lifespans of about 3 to 7 years while conventional reactors have short fuel cycle that lasts only about 12-24 months before needing to be shut down for refueling, limiting their capacity in terms of electricity provision. To conclude, SMRs hold promising potential for future adoption, offering a viable energy source that does not emit pollutants like how fossil fuels do.

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