![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() "And if you don't have backup sources of electricity, or backup sources of water, then you can have a situation where the fuel overheats, like it did at Fukushima," Durham said. When a nuclear reactor shuts down, the fuel rods still need to be kept cool, which requires backup sources of electricity. Water keeps the fuel rods cool, preventing them from overheating. The passive cooling system is especially critical in both models. The AP300 also has the same safety features of the AP1000, Durham said. "We have absolute confidence, because the NRC has already licensed every bit of this technology," Durham told CNBC. But an AP300 nuclear reactor will produce roughly the same amount of electricity as what a typical coal plant produces, so replacing one coal plant with a small nuclear reactor would be simpler.įor the AP300 to be available to customers at the end of 2027 in the U.S., the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will have to offer approval, but Durham said he's confident that will happen. It can take years to get new sources of power connected because they often require an upgrade in transmission capacity. In the U.S., transmission lines are virtually tapped out. It's also easier to connect small reactors to the power grid. "One aspect of many of the advanced reactor technologies, including high-temperature gas, molten-salt and sodium fast reactors, is they can produce industrial grade heat for non-power purposes or combined heat and power applications for industries such as steel making, chemical production, cement production, and milling and mining among many others," Merrifield said. Small nuclear reactors are also being eyed by industrial producers as carbon-free sources of heat, Merrifield told CNBC. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, told CNBC. (News of Westinghouse's AP300 was not public before Thursday morning, so Merrifield was speaking with CNBC about general trends in the nuclear industry.) Merrifield, a nuclear energy lawyer and former commissioner of the U.S. "Unlike the previous generation of nuclear power plants, which were only used by large integrated utilities, the sizes of the advanced reactors which range from microreactors of a half-megawatt to 300 megawatts or more, means that there is a significantly larger number of utilities that can utilize these technologies," Jeffrey S. But Durham says publicized cost estimates, which have reached past $30 billion, include things like interest on money borrowed to pay for the project.īecause the small modular reactors are smaller and less expensive, they are also more versatile. The Vogtle power plant in Georgia is adding two AP1000s, and that project has been widely criticized for budget and schedule overruns. A 2022 study from MIT, which Durham cited to CNBC, estimates that it should cost around $6.8 billion to stand up an AP1000. The AP300 is estimated to cost approximately $1 billion per unit, Durham told CNBC. Smaller nuclear reactors are less expensive to build, which is a major selling point. The AP300 will generate approximately 300 megawatts of energy, which will power approximately 300,000 homes, versus 1,200 megawatts for the AP1000, according to David Durham, president of energy systems at Westinghouse. Electricity generated from a nuclear fission reactor produces no greenhouse gas emissions. Westinghouse's move is a notable inflection point in the nuclear industry's effort to remake itself as a way to address climate change. Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lower Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit ![]()
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