Small Modular Nuclear Reactors – not so great
This is a topical post for Australian readers as our Conservative party [LNP] is busy spruiking* nuclear reactors as a ‘better’ alternative to climate change than renewables. They say that the new SMRs [Small Modular Reactors] are far better than the old large scale reactors in every sense – cost, time and output.
According to a report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) entitled: ‘”Small Modular Reactors: Still Too Expensive, Too Slow, and Too Risky”, the few small reactors built or being built suffer from the same problems as the large ones:
‘The cost of … all three SMRs currently operating (plus one now being completed in Argentina) went way over budget, as this graph shows.’ https://newatlas.com/energy/modular-nuclear-reactors/
I love visual data so here are some of the most eye popping graphs from the report:
The dotted line at the ‘100%’ mark is what they thought the SMR would cost to build. The biiiiig yellow columns show how much more they ended up costing. The one in Argentina [not complete] has already notched up costs 700% more than expected.
And here’s another graph. This one shows the time overruns:
The small, pale grey columns represent how long they thought the SMR’s would take to build. The whopping big dark columns are how long they actually took to build.
And, of course, as with any new technology, an unforeseen problem could easily have long reaching safety repercussions. And that is why no one here in Australia wants a nuclear reactor in their suburb, or anywhere near their suburb.
But risks aside, this is the most telling conclusion from the report:
‘”At least 375,000 MW of NEW RENEWABLE ENERGY generating capacity is likely to be added to the US grid in the next seven years,” they say. “By contrast, IEEFA believes it is highly unlikely any SMRs will be brought online in that same time frame. The comparison couldn’t be clearer. Regulators, utilities, investors and government officials should acknowledge this and embrace the available reality: Renewables are the near-term solution.” https://newatlas.com/energy/modular-nuclear-reactors/
The bold caps and underline are mine. I put them in there because it took two reads for the significance of those numbers to sink in, and I wanted to make sure that everyone ‘gets it’ too.
Honestly, the contrast between wishful thinking, and actual, achievable reality is stark. I don’t know why the LNP is spruiking this technology, but it belongs in La La Land.
cheers,
Meeks
