TVA is planning to build two 180-megawatt small modular reactors on the Clinch River in Oak Ridge. (Rendering by Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Energy)
A single B&W mPower nuclear reactor module.
Proposed small modular reactorName: mPowerPartners: Babcock & Wilcox, TVA and BechtelSite: Clinch River site in Oak RidgeSize: Up to four SMR units, each capable of generating 180 megawatts of electricitySchedule: Submit permit application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission by mid 2014 for approval by 2018; commercial operation by October 2021.Smaller reactor future Advantages:• Most components are small enough to be built in factory and shipped for assembly on site• Simpler and smaller design allows for reactor to be built underground and with passive cooling, eliminating need for so many pumps, valves and other equipment• Smaller size should allow for quicker and easier construction and incremental additions that don’t require as much one-time capital cost• Small modular reactors could be air cooled, in some instances, allowing for locations away form rivers, lakes or oceansDisadvantages:• Technology is yet to be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and there is no history of construction to test new design.• Smaller size loses economies of scale possible with bigger reactors, pushing up labor costs per megawatt of power generated• Distributed power from smaller units also increases number of targets for terrorist attacks or for public exposure to radiation leaks, if they occur• Costs are still uncertain because there is no track record yet. Standardization will help, but there may still be competing and different designs for small modular reactors and utilities will have to order enough units to gain the efficiencies of mass factory production.
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The next new nuclear reactor for TVA may be built in a factory and shipped to the Tennessee Valley in a truck or railcar.
After more than three decades of building bigger and increasingly more expensive nuclear power plants, TVA officials are thinking small about their next potential nuclear unit.
The Tennessee Valley Authority is working with two of the world’s biggest nuclear contractors — Babcock & Wilcox and Bechtel Corp. — to test a pilot small modular reactor known as mPower.