Load following with Small Modular Reactors (SMR): A real options analysis

Locatelli, Giorgio; Boarin, Sara; Pellegrino, Francesco; Ricotti, Marco Enrico

doi:10.1016/j.energy.2014.11.040

Cited by 90 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…A modular power plant configuration also opens up the possibility of load-following capability and co-generation, by switching on a greater number of modules to provide electricity at times of high grid demand and then switching the output for the purposes of process heat applications at times of low grid demand. This concept is possible with some of the approaches being explored by various fusion initiatives, and is suggested in [22] (see Section 6), as well as by an array of concepts employing the use of fission SMRs (Small Modular Reactors), which share many similarities with the modular fusion power plant concept [21,23].…”

Section: Operation Modesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nuclear Fusion Power Plants

Takeda¹,

Pearson²

2019

Power Plants in the Industry

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Nuclear fusion, the process that powers the sun and the stars, is heralded as the ultimate energy source for the future of mankind. The promise of nuclear fusion to provide clean and safe energy, while having abundant fuel resources continues to drive global research and development. However, the goal of reaching so-called "breakeven" energy conditions, whereby the energy produced from a fusion reaction is greater than the energy put in, is yet to be demonstrated. It is the role of ITER, an international collaborative experimental reactor, to achieve breakeven conditions and to demonstrate technologies that will allow fusion to be realized as a viable energy source. However, with significant delays and cost overruns to ITER, there has been increased interest in the development of other fusion reactor concepts, particularly by private-sector start-ups, all of which are exploring the possibility of an accelerated route to fusion. This chapter gives a comprehensive overview of nuclear fusion science, and provides an account of current approaches and their progress towards the realization of future fusion energy power plants. The range of technical issues, associated technology development challenges and future commercial opportunities are explored, with a focus on magnetic confinement approaches.

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Section: Operation Modesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nuclear Fusion Power Plants

Takeda¹,

Pearson²

2019

Power Plants in the Industry

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“…Jain et al (2013b) focused on small-and medium-sized reactors (SMRs) and investigated the economic impact of modular construction of such reactors. See, for example, Jain et al (2014); Locatelli et al (2015); Siddiqui and Fleten (2010); Zhu (2012), for other applications. (1977) discussed several ethical issues that affect public support.…”

Section: Capacity Deployment Of Nuclear Facilitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strategic real option and flexibility analysis for nuclear power plants considering uncertainty in electricity demand and public acceptance

2017

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Nuclear power is an important energy source especially in consideration of CO2 emissions and global warming. Deploying nuclear power plants, however, may be challenging when uncertainty in long-term electricity demand and more importantly public acceptance are considered. This is true especially for emerging economies (e.g., India, China) concerned with reducing their carbon footprint in the context of growing economic development, while accommodating a growing population and significantly changing demographics, as well as recent events that may affect the public's perception of nuclear technology. In the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster, public acceptance has come to play a central role in continued operations and deployment of new nuclear power systems worldwide. In countries seeing important long-term demographic changes, it may be difficult to determine the future capacity needed, when and where to deploy it over time, and in the most economic manner. Existing studies on capacity deployment typically do not consider such uncertainty drivers in long-term capacity deployment analyses (e.g., 40+ years). To address these issues, this paper introduces a novel approach to nuclear power systems design and capacity deployment under uncertainty that exploits the idea of strategic flexibility and managerial decision rules. The approach enables dealing more pro-actively with uncertainty and helps identify the most economic deployment paths for new nuclear capacity deployment over multiple sites. One novelty of the study lies in the explicit recognition of public acceptance as an important uncertainty driver affecting economic performance, along with long-term electricity demand. Another novelty is in how the concept of flexibility is exploited to deal with uncertainty and improve expected lifecycle performance (e.g. cost). New design and deployment strategies are developed and analyzed through a multistage stochastic programming framework where decision rules are represented as non-anticipative constraints. This approach provides a new way to devise and analyze adaptation strategies in view of long-term uncertainty fluctuations that is more intuitive and readily usable by system operators than typical solutions obtained from standard real options analysis techniques, which are typically used to analyze flexibility in large-scale, irreversible investment projects. The study considers three flexibility strategies subject to uncertainty in electricity demand and public acceptance: 1) phasing (or staging) capacity deployment over time and space, 2) onsite capacity expansion, and 3) life extension. Numerical analysis shows that flexible designs perform better than rigid optimal design deployment strategies, and the most flexible design combining the above strategies outperforms both more rigid and less flexible design alternatives. It is also demonstrated that a flexible design benefits from the strategies of phasing and capacity expansion most significantly across all three strategies studied. The results provide...

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“…To solve the intrinsic dependence that renewable energy without storage has on fossil fuels, new nuclear power plants are expected to be deployed in the next decades which are known as Small Modular Reactors, or also Small and Medium Reactors (SMR), belonging to the Generation IV of this technology [28,29]. The advantages of these new reactors, besides their inherently safe designs, are their capacity of load following [30] and fast and modular construction [31], which is very important when they are part of a mix like the one proposed by Chile. However, although there is no plan to build them in the short-medium term in Chile, its deployment is not restricted and further studies will be needed for the country, most of which will be led by the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Assessment of Energy Scenarios for a Low-Carbon Electrical Network in Chile

2019

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Nowadays, establishing clean energy sources is an undeniable need for all territories to reconcile energy and competitiveness objectives with those of security and sustainability. This article shows the main advantages of implementing clean energy sources in the long-term Chilean electrical network. The clean energy considered in this work is based on Renewable Energy (Conventional and Non-Conventional) with the backup of gas or nuclear. Thus, four scenarios are proposed and were simulated for the year 2050, the year assumed for the decommissioning of all coal plants in the country. These scenarios contemplate a high or low penetration of Renewable Energy. Additionally, a reference and realistic scenario for the year 2018 has also been considered to compare to the clean scenarios proposed. The results obtained coincide with the goals of reducing environmental impacts such as global warming emissions and fossil fuel dependence. However, the backup that was chosen for supporting the intermittence of renewable energy may have an important role in the main system considering the expected growth of energy demands in the near future.

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Load following with Small Modular Reactors (SMR): A real options analysis

Cited by 90 publications

References 47 publications

Nuclear Fusion Power Plants

Nuclear Fusion Power Plants

Strategic real option and flexibility analysis for nuclear power plants considering uncertainty in electricity demand and public acceptance

Environmental Assessment of Energy Scenarios for a Low-Carbon Electrical Network in Chile

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