The SMR - An Important New Electricity Source for Texas

Uranium (Nuclear Minerals) / Nuclear Power - Economics, Design, & Industry

Date posted: 04/05/17

Winston Porter opines that an important new electricity source for Texas will be available in the next few years. Texas has a mixed bag of fuels to generate the state electricity. This includes natural gas (55%), coal/lignite (24%), wind (14%), nuclear (6%), and solar (1%). But this mix will keep changing since Houston and some other Texas cities are nonattainment areas regarding air quality. So, carbon emissions will still need to be reduced whether you are concerned about climate change or not. Not good news for coal, particularly. Another key factor is that the new administration is likely to cut back on taxpayer subsidies for wind and solar. So Porter suggests that an important addition to Texas fuel mix considerations, namely a new nuclear technology called small modular reactors (SMRs). These units are a fraction of the size of existing nuclear power plants. Compared with the large plants, SMRs can be installed much faster, better matched to electricity demands, and are expected to be less expensive and safer (if less than zero accidents over the past 40 years in the U.S. mean anything). Consider a SMR being developed by NuScale, an Oregon-based nuclear company, which recently submitted the first application for certification of an SMR to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The NuScale design is for a reactor that would generate 50 megawatts of electricity, smaller than one that powers our nuclear submarines. The SMR is designed so that it can be built in a factory, and shipped by truck, barge or railroad to a site for final assembly. As demand arises for more power, the owner could simply order additional modules. Up to 12 modules could be located alongside one another, producing 600 megawatts of electricity. Each module would operate individually, so that when one is taken offline for refueling or maintenance, the others would continue generating power.