TITLE:
Comparison of Small Modular Reactor and Large Nuclear Reactor Fuel Cost
AUTHORS:
Christopher P. Pannier, Radek Skoda
KEYWORDS:
Nuclear Energy, New Nuclear, Nuclear Fuel Cost, Small Modular Reactors, SMR, Light Water Reactors
JOURNAL NAME:
Energy and Power Engineering,
Vol.6 No.5,
May
6,
2014
ABSTRACT:
Small modular
reactors (SMRs) offer simple, standardized, and safe modular designs for new
nuclear reactor construction. They are factory built, requiring smaller
initial capital investment and facilitating shorter construction times. SMRs
also promise competitive economy when compared with the current reactor fleet.
Construction cost of a majority of the projects, which are mostly in their
design stages, is not publicly available, but variable costs can be determined
from fuel enrichment, average burn-up, and plant thermal efficiency, which are
public parameters for many near-term SMR projects. The fuel cost of electricity
generation for selected SMRs and large reactors is simulated, including
calculation of optimal tails assay in the uranium enrichment process. The
results are compared between one another and with current generation large
reactor designs providing a rough comparison of the long-term economics of a
new nuclear reactor project. SMRs are predicted to have higher fuel costs than
large reactors. Particularly, integral pressurized water reactors (iPWRs) are
shown to have from 15% to 70% higher fuel costs than large light water reactors
using 2014 nuclear fuels market data. Fuel cost sensitivities to reactor design
parameters are presented.