ECONOMIC CENTS: The Low-Down on Future Nuclear Power Plants
There are several types of next generation nuclear plants being developed. A preview of the future.
By Bruce Saller
COLUMNIST
Currently operating nuclear power plants in the US are either boiling water reactors or pressurized water reactors.
In boiling water reactors, water is heated and becomes steam inside the reactor core, and the steam is used to drive a turbine.
In pressurized water reactors, the water in the reactor is kept under pressure to prevent it from turning into steam, then circulated through a steam generator which heats other water into steam which is used to drive a turbine.
These plants normally generate one thousand Mega-Watts (MW, million watts), and are about 33% efficient. (A discussion on nuclear plant efficiency is here, but the simplified answer is efficiency increases with steam temperature).
There are several types of next generation nuclear plants being developed according to the Department of Energy. Many companies are developing these reactors; the status of the units closest to deployment is provided.
The Advanced Small Modular Water — Cooled Reactor (SMR) uses water as a coolant (like existing reactors) but generates less power (nominally 300 MW). This design allows installation on smaller parcels of land and can potentially be used on decommissioned fossil fuel plant sites, further reducing costs since the electric infrastructure can be re-used. Several commercial units are under contract.
The Liquid Metal — Cooled Fast Reactor uses sodium or lead as a coolant, which can operate at lower pressures and higher temperatures, thereby increasing efficiency. A 75 MW unit is under construction at Idaho National Laboratory and a lead cooled system providing up to 600 MW is in development.
The Gas-Cooled Reactor is cooled by gas (typically Helium) and can operate at higher temperatures which increases efficiency. The construction permit for an 80 MW unit is under review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The Molten Salt Reactor uses melted fluoride or chloride salts as a coolant and potentially a mix of chloride salt and uranium as fuel. This reactor design is headed by the Idaho National Laboratory and is projected to have a demonstration reactor built in the early 2030s.
In addition to new utility sized reactors, small portable reactors (Microreactors) providing 1-20 MW are being developed for use in remote locations, military bases, disaster sites, etc. The Department of Energy is working with three contractors to develop microreactors scheduled to be commercially available by 2030.
The above reactors use nuclear fission to split atoms to produce heat. There has been a lot of advancement recently in nuclear fusion which combines variants of hydrogen into variants of less mass with the lost mass transitioning into heat energy (as occurs in the sun). The Department of Energy schedule has demonstration reactors being built in the 2030s and commercial reactors being built in the 2040s, so nuclear fission reactors will be around for another generation.
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NIce readable summary of complex subject.