Nuclear power has long been considered an important way to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Nuclear power has great potential, and there is also great controversy. According to the data of the World Nuclear Association (WNA), there are more than 600 reactors in operation in more than 50 countries, accounting for about one tenth of the world's electricity consumption.




However, with the surge in world power demand, there are concerns that large-scale nuclear power may not be able to deal with the problem. For example, the production cost of Hinkley point C in the UK is rising. Compared with fossil fuel power generation equipment, the third generation nuclear power technology is not mature.







Small modular reactor (SMR) has become a potential treatment scheme for the nuclear industry. The world Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) defines a reactor with an electric power of less than 300MW as a small reactor.





It is worth noting that SMR rarely meets the logistics challenges and spiral addition costs of large-scale nuclear power, and it is small and sensitive and can be arranged in a variety of environments. However, SMR still has many challenges in terms of capital and technology.




Rolls Royce will build 16 miniature nuclear reactors in the UK




Recently, a consortium led by British auto giant Rolls Royce is launching the SMR project. The consortium plans to build 16 micro nuclear reactors in the UK.




It is estimated that these reactors will supply up to 400MW of power, equivalent to about 150 onshore wind power plants, and will begin commercial operation in 2028. All seven nuclear power units currently in operation in the UK will be decommissioned by 2035, when the power supply will be cut by one fifth.




Rolls Royce also highlighted other economic benefits from the SMR project, such as the creation of 40000 jobs in the SMR industrial chain. The project is also sponsored by the government for about $25 million and will promote the contribution of private and public assets.




However, the project also faces challenges.




Most of the financial feasibility of this intention depends on SMR's global export. By 2035, the output value of global SMR occupations will reach about 546 billion US dollars. However, the UK's position in the global nuclear industry has been weakened by the rigid links between the UK and its former trading partners due to brexit.




In addition, funding for other (renewable) power schemes in the UK may prevent the development of other (renewable) power. Statista's data show that by 2035, when the UK's nuclear power units are decommissioned, the UK will use renewable power to compensate for 70gw of power generation vacancy.







By comparison, the planned generation of new nuclear power is only 13GW. This shows that even with considerable financial support, the role of UK nuclear power in the power structure is still limited.




Rosatom will build 50 MW SMR units




Russian nuclear energy company Rosatom announced at the end of 2020 that it had reached an agreement on the power price of SMR in Yakut region in the east of the country. The SMR has a power of 50MW and can help the region reduce 10000 tons of carbon emissions per year.




The project is the latest initiative in Yakut region to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Due to the extreme climate factors in the region, the reliability of renewable power such as solar energy is very low. Therefore, it is believed that SMR can provide lasting clean power for the region.




Rosatom also highlighted other economic benefits of this intention. For example, due to the higher reliability of nuclear power, the power cost in the region will be reduced by twice, and 800 local jobs have been created in the production and operation of SMR.




The first SMR program certification in the United States




In September 2020, after a four-year review of the SMR developed by nuscale power by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), it passed the first SMR planning certification.




With the regulatory consent, nuscale hopes that the project will have a beneficial impact on its own finance and the SMR career in the United States. In fact, the latest progress of this intention has proved its concept. The planned power of its SMR module is 60MW at the beginning, but now it has been increased to 77mw.




Nuscale's SMR has set up many safety functions to minimize the impact of disaster on nuclear equipment. For a nuclear power unit composed of many SMRs, each SMR is separately arranged in the containment with a diameter of 4.6m, rather than being arranged in the containment with a diameter of 40m like a large pile.




The containment of SMR can withstand up to 15 times the pressure and has higher safety. In addition, the pressure vessel is submerged in the pool, providing rated waste heat export measures, which is difficult to complete in a large pile.




However, it remains to be investigated whether the project can address the primary challenge (cost) faced by many nuclear equipment in the United States. Although the United States is the world's largest nuclear power generation country, accounting for more than 30% of the global nuclear power generation, many power stations in the United States can not complete the surplus and are forced to retire early.







From 2013 to 2020, the United States has 10 units retired in advance, with a total power generation of 9gw. Nuscale's SMR has not been commercially tested in the United States, so it is unclear whether it will bring long-term economic benefits.




South Africa restart Pebble Bed Modular Reactor




The ball bed modular reactor (PBMR) was first developed in South Africa in the 1990s. The power of the SMR is 110MW and is cooled by helium. Therefore, the SMR can be arranged in countries with limited water resources such as South Africa.




South Africa's power structure is seriously unbalanced, and such projects are particularly important for South Africa. In 2016, 69% of South Africa's primary power came from coal and 14% from crude oil.




Renewable power, natural gas and nuclear power are the three most valued and funded power in the world, accounting for only 11%, 3% and 3% respectively.




In 2019, the South African government stated that South Africa is very rich in uranium reserves, accounting for 5.2% of the world's proven uranium deposits. This shows that as long as South Africa is willing to invest in the development of nuclear related technologies, there will be great development prospects.




Eskom, the South African power company, has been committed to developing PBMR. Eskom has been protecting and maintaining these reactors and said in January 2020 that it was looking for investors to participate in the project and realize its potential. As the dynamic career in South Africa is dominated by state-owned enterprises, the influence of private investment is not clear. Therefore, there are still doubts about whether the project can be reborn.




Texas blackout proves that nuclear power is still stable




In the middle and late February of 2021, Texas (hereinafter referred to as Texas) suffered a historic extreme cold current climate, and the power system almost collapsed. Nuclear power generation shows strong disaster resistance in extremely cold climate.




What happened to the blackout? What kind of power structure can better prevent similar incidents?




1. Texas power supply is safe and reliable, and there is a short board




The low safety of power supply is the root cause of the power failure. Affected by the extreme climate, the output of natural gas and wind power units, which account for 70% of the total power generation in Texas, decreased by 40%, resulting in a severe imbalance between on grid power and power load.




As the primary power generation fuel, the natural gas is cut off due to the freezing of gas wells and pipeline ice blockage, so it can not continue to generate electricity, forming a power gap of 30 million KW. As the third largest power source, wind power is paralyzed due to the freezing of wind turbines, which highlights the problem that renewable power is vulnerable to climate and has low reliability.




The power supply structure is unreasonable, and the proportion of nuclear energy with stable power supply is too low, which fails to fill the power gap. In the Texas power outage, the nuclear power was relatively stable. The four nuclear power units maintained 75% of the expected capacity and quickly recovered to 100%. Nuclear power is not easily affected by climate and has strong ability to withstand extreme climate disasters. It can be used as a base load power supply with all-weather zero carbon. Compared with natural gas power generation, nuclear power has higher safety and reliability.




However, due to the relatively low proportion of nuclear power generation in Texas, it is unable to fill the power gap formed by this disaster. Although the output of coal-fired power units is affected by the freezing of some coal piles and equipment, it generally supports the minimum power supply of Texas during the disaster together with nuclear power.




2. Nuclear power is an important choice to improve the safety and reliability of power supply




Give play to the safety and reliability advantages of nuclear power to ensure the safety of power supply under extreme climate disasters. With the aggravation of global climate change, the problem of power supply safety caused by extreme climate is prominent. In addition to the power outage in Texas, the sharp increase in power demand in California due to the hot weather in 2019 triggered a large-scale power outage, and the pace of renewable power reform was too fast to provide stable and sufficient power to cope with the increase in demand, which became the primary reason for the power outage.




Renewable power such as scenery is easily affected by climate and has volatility and intermittence. When large-scale access to the power grid, it needs to be supported by a stable base load power supply. Nuclear power has advantages in safety, efficiency and stability. It can be used as a zero carbon clean power for all-weather stable power supply, provide strong support for renewable power access to the power grid, and become a stable and reliable dispatching base load power supply in extreme climate disasters.




The rapid recovery of local power crisis must rely on the local safe base load power supply. This time, the local base load power supply of Texas in the United States is affected by the extreme climate, and the power generation ability decreases. The surrounding states are also unable to provide support in the face of the opposition between the soaring demand for power supply and the lack of power supply. Moreover, the relatively independent power grid of Texas limits their ability to accept the transmission of external power grid.




Last winter, affected by the cold current in winter, the demand for electricity in Hunan, Jiangxi and other places in China surged. Due to the lack of local renewable power output and the limited power transmission outside the province, as well as the lack of safe and stable power to fill the power gap as an emergency, many places were forced to switch off and limit electricity.




Regional base load power supply can not only supply power for the region at ordinary times, but also rely on it to alleviate the emergence of power crisis or rapid recovery in case of sudden disaster. Therefore, it is very important to ensure the construction of regional safe and stable base load power supply.




Ensuring the balance of power in heating and power supply is conducive to coping with climate change. The natural gas supply in Texas was cut off due to pipeline ice blockage, and the only available natural gas was given priority to household and enterprise heating. The natural gas supply of power plants was further reduced, which directly led to a 40% decline in natural gas power generation, forming a power outage crisis. China should explore diversified heating methods including nuclear heating, so as to reduce the pressure of natural gas demand and jointly ensure the safety of power supply.




3. Relevant claims




Add the proportion of nuclear power in the power system to diversify the power supply structure. Facing the future demand for low-carbon power, nuclear power and renewable power are important ways to achieve the vision of carbon neutrality. The diversification of power supply structure is conducive to enhancing the adjustability of power supply, improving reliability and ensuring the safety of power supply.




It is advocated to increase the proportion of nuclear power on the premise of ensuring safety, and support the grid voltage and emergency completion frequency in terms of dispatching output. Reasonably coordinate the proportion of clean power such as nuclear, water, wind and light, build a composite power system with harmonious nuclear and renewable power, and ensure power safety to the greatest extent.




Add supporting nuclear power sources in Central China to optimize the power space layout. Under the extreme climate and after the interruption of regional power network, nuclear power can continue to output safely for a long time to ensure the safety of regional power. Central China has limited resources, the development of hydropower exploitable resources has basically ended, and the number of scenic resources is limited,




Coal power is transferred into power coal by relying on other provinces, and a considerable part of power is transmitted by relying on UHV external network. It is advocated to approve Hunan Taohuajiang nuclear power project during the 14th Five Year Plan period, add supporting power supply to central China regional power grid, improve the harmony and sensitivity of regional power system, and make preparations for coping with extreme climate disasters.




Pay attention to the comprehensive use of nuclear energy and promote the optimization of power system. More than 60% of China's regions and more than 50% of the population need heating in winter. Under the current heating structure, a more severe climate of environmental pollution and haze has been formed.




As a clean power, nuclear energy is an important heating resource. Compared with coal-fired and natural gas heating, nuclear heating can effectively reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and soot particles. It advocates accelerating the construction of comprehensive use items such as nuclear heating, including nuclear heating into the national power "14th five year plan", completing the clean replacement of heating, and helping China reach the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutralization.