I have written about small modular nuclear reactors before. There are some in the nuclear industry who feel that these new designs will be the salvation of their business. One idea is to build the reactors in factories and then ship them to the site which would substantially reduce construction costs. The new reactor designs can also be used in countries where the electrical grid would not be able to accept the output of a traditional billion watt nuclear reactor. They are supposed to be safer, more secure and cheaper than the current nuclear power reactors. The U.S. Government has been doling out grants for research and development to private companies from a fund of about four hundred and fifty million dollars and expects to see a commercial version of the small modular reactors on the market by 2020.
There are other who are not so convinced that these new small reactors can fulfill their promised benefits. The Union of Concerned Scientists recent released a report with the title Small Isn't Always Beautiful which suggests that the small reactors will not be any safer, more secure or produce electricity more cheaply than the current operating nuclear reactors.
The currently operating fleet of nuclear power reactors generate gigawatts of electricity because the utilities wanted to take advantage of economies of scale when they were built. It might sound like a good deal to say that a new modular reactor will cost half of what a standard reactor would cost but if the new reactor can only generate one third of the electricity generated by the big reactors, then the buyer does not come out ahead on price.
Another big concern is that the developers and manufacturers of small modular reactors may cut corners on design and operation in an attempt to reduce the cost of the reactors and make them competitive. Apparently, the developers are also petitioning the NRC to reduce the requirements for staffing of operators and security forces as well as emergency planning. The report also points out that the negotiations between the new reactor vendors and the NRC over regulations is being held in private on the claim that proprietary information is being discussed at the meetings. Obviously, if the regulations are weakened and the "private" designs are cutting corners, these reactors will not be safer and more secure that the currently operating reactors.
Supporters of the new reactor designs point to the efficiency and economy of producing components on a factory production line. Critics point out that there are issues of quality control on a production line and that if there is a design flaw in the components being produced , all the reactors being produced in the same factory will have the same flaw.
The UCS report concludes that they support the design of new reactors if the designers are careful and do not cut corners to reduce the price of their product. The report also calls on the Federal government to hold to the current NRC standards and exercise thorough oversight on the design, certification and operation of any new reactor type.
This is the logo of the organization that issued the report mentioned in the article above:
