Can we rely on nuclear as a source of clean, reliable power?
Interchange Recharged
Wood Mackenzie
4.8 • 535 Ratings
🗓️ 9 April 2024
⏱️ 36 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
SMRs: a new horizon in Nuclear Power.
This week on The Interchange: Recharged, we are joined by Ted Nordhaus, Executive Director at the Breakthrough Institute, an environmental research centre in Berkley, California. They focus on finding technological solutions to environmental problems.
Achieving a net-zero emission grid by 2050, they claim, with a significant nuclear component would not only be feasible but also cost-effective compared to over-reliance on variable renewable energy sources. This approach requires substantial investment, estimated between US$150 to US$220 billion by 2035, escalating to over a trillion dollars by 2050. Together they discuss the likelihood that the private sector will drive this investment, provided that nuclear technologies are economically viable and regulatory uncertainties are addressed. They look at the Build Nuclear Now campaign, which aims to rally public support for nuclear energy and drive towards grassroots pro-nuclear advocacy. Is this a sign that public sentiment is changing?
The main challenges hindering the adoption of nuclear energy include regulatory hurdles, financial barriers and ongoing concerns surrounding nuclear safety. Ted explains that regulatory reform and public sector commitment could overcome these obstacles. The Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernisation Act are examples of a policy aimed at modernising the regulatory environment, to facilitate the licensing of advanced nuclear reactors.
So, are SMRs the solution to everything nuclear? They’re designed to produce between 50 to 300 MW of electricity per module, which is about one-third of the generation capacity of traditional nuclear power reactors. NuScale's design (listen back to our episode from April last year for more on this) for instance, is for a 77 MW module, with plans to deploy modules in groups that can generate up to 924 MW. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has been actively supporting SMR development, investing over US$600 million in the past decade to assist in the design, licensing and siting of new SMR technologies in the U.S. The technology seems to be there, as does the baseline investment.
What’s next for the nuclear industry? Listen to find out.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Wood McKenzie's Solar Energy and Storage Summit is back in Denver on the 29th and 30th of April, |
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| 0:11.9 | which features senior speakers from across the U.S. power sector. Come and join over 450 senior |
| 0:18.2 | leaders from U.S. power developers, utilities, and independent power producers |
| 0:23.3 | to tackle the industry's biggest challenges. From navigating life after tax credits to capturing |
| 0:29.7 | the load growth boom, discover how the energy mix is evolving and how the U.S. is going to meet |
| 0:34.9 | that power demand. Seats are limited, so register now at woodmack.com. |
| 0:40.3 | Can we rely on nuclear to give us clean, reliable, and affordable power? |
| 0:44.8 | This is the interchange, recharged. |
| 0:47.7 | A Wood McKenzie production. |
| 0:49.6 | I'm David Banmiller. |
| 0:53.0 | Is it a crucial piece of the energy transition puzzle, or do the high costs and untested |
| 0:58.2 | technology at scale make it unfeasible? |
| 1:00.8 | SMRs or small modular reactors have the potential to address some of the concerns, like |
| 1:05.7 | waste management and safety. |
| 1:07.5 | We get firm baseload power from nuclear without greenhouse gas emissions, but there are |
| 1:12.1 | regulatory and financial barriers standing in the way to mass adoption. At the end of 2023, |
| 1:18.1 | the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced proposed revisions to its regulations around |
| 1:22.6 | emergency programs for new advanced reactors. It was an example of the much-needed |
| 1:27.4 | updating to regulatory frameworks in the industry as the new technology moves rapidly forward. |
| 1:32.3 | Ted Norhouse is the co-founder of the Breakthrough Institute, a research center in Berkeley, California, |
| 1:38.3 | that promotes technological solutions to environmental problems. |
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