Modular Homes In N M

Alabama Voices: Small reactors shift energy debate

By Bryan A. Chin

If you believe that nuclear power can play a pivotal role in safeguarding energy security and mitigating climate change -- and I do -- then you'll be interested to know that we're in the midst of a revolution in reactor technology that promises to make nuclear energy facilities more affordable in the United States and globally.

Innovative designs for a new generation of small modular reactors (SMRs) that can be built in factories at significantly less cost than large conventional nuclear plants are coming on the scene. The Tennessee Valley Authority has signed a letter of intent to buy as many as six SMRs -- each producing 125 megawatts of electricity and able to go four years without refueling. Manufacturing the SMRs will be Babcock & Wilcox, a Charlotte-based supplier of small reactors to the U.S. Navy that are used to power submarines and aircraft carriers.

SMRs could be the future of nuclear power. They are compact, designed to be easier to build and operate than large nuclear plants, with fewer valves, pumps and pipes. Being stand-alone units, they can be built sequentially as the need for electricity arises. They could be transported by railroad or barge to a nuclear site. They can be located beneath the ground for security. And they would produce significantly less waste.

SMR designers envision as many as 12 modules situated side by side, each generating between 25 megawatts and 140 megawatts of electricity. A 25-megawatt SMR would supply enough electricity for 20,000 homes.

Competing for what could be a sizeable global market for SMRs are more than a dozen U.S. nuclear companies, including such established names as Westinghouse, General Electric, General Atomics and Babcock & Wilcox. These firms also design and build large nuclear plants. Ground has been broken for construction of four large nuclear plants using the Westinghouse AP-1000 design - two each in Georgia and South Carolina. But the primary market for large reactors is countries like China and India with fast-growing economies.

SMRs offer a number of important advantages -- greater simplicity of design, economy of mass production, and reduced siting costs. Importantly, SMRs would be completely fabricated in the United States, providing a potentially large source of revenue and jobs.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans to begin reviewing applications for SMR design certification later this year. Because the NRC is more familiar with existing reactor technology, priority will go to light-water reactor designs of the type used in operating nuclear plants. But among the companies expected to submit applications are several start-up firms whose high-temperature reactors -- known as "fast reactors" -- use molten sodium instead of water to remove fission heat from the reactor.

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