World’s first Small Modular Reactor Engineering and Service Centre

[Whitenuckler]

Hundreds of jobs come to Durham with world’s first Small Modular Reactor Engineering and Service Centre

More than 300 good-paying jobs are coming to Durham Region, training thousands of workers in the nuclear industry each year. Monday, the province announced a

www.durhamradionews.com

Close to where I used to live in Ontario. I wonder if these are similar to the ones they had on navy ships?

 

[blades]

see the jan 22/2023 post by begreen

 

[Whitenuckler]

see the jan 22/2023 post by begreen

Thread 'The NRC has approved the first small nuke design for production'

Jan 22, 2023

This is an important milestone. It means that NuScale can begin production of its small modular nuclear reactor (SMNR). Unlike mega plants, this design can be manufactured in factories and shipped to the site. This should greatly reduce cost of production. They can burn nuclear waste and in a failure mode, they can safely run and shut down without power. Who will be the first customers, Idaho, Romania? One new obstacle has been the dramatic increase in the price of steel. Carbon steel piping and steel plate costs are up 50% since 2020...

• begreen
• Replies: 7
• Forum: The Green Room

• 

Thanks

 

[woodgeek]

Fascinating. "Engineering and Service Center". I wonder what means.

I thought that these devices were intended to have cheap, single shot reactor cores/vessels that once the fuel was depleted could be drained and passively safed intact for long term disposal. New cores/vessels could then be strapped onto the existing generation equipment on site. Correct me if I'm wrong, maybe there are multiple plans...

So, why 'Engineering and Service' rather than 'Manufacturing' or 'Disposal' ? Seems euphemistic to me. Who wouldn't want a 'Engineering and Service Center'? I hope I"m wrong and it doesn't' turn into a site to store scores of spent reactors.

 

[Whitenuckler]

Fascinating. "Engineering and Service Center". I wonder what means.

I thought that these devices were intended to have cheap, single shot reactor cores/vessels that once the fuel was depleted could be drained and passively safed intact for long term disposal. New cores/vessels could then be strapped onto the existing generation equipment on site. Correct me if I'm wrong, maybe there are multiple plans...

So, why 'Engineering and Service' rather than 'Manufacturing' or 'Disposal' ? Seems euphemistic to me. Who wouldn't want a 'Engineering and Service Center'? I hope I"m wrong and it doesn't' turn into a site to store scores of spent reactors.

I'm sure there is a long list of requirements that the suppliers need to meet in order to get a license. I see GE and Hitachi are still in the game.

 

[begreen]

Good question. According to GE Vernova Hitachi, Ontario Power Generation contracted with GE Vernova to build four of its BWRX-300 small modular reactors (SMRs) at the Darlington New Nuclear Project site. When constructed, each unit will deliver enough electricity to power 300,000 Toronto homes and is 10% the size and complexity of a traditional boiling water reactor (BWR).

Having a training, engineering, and design service nearby makes sense. There will be training and maintenance needs for a long time. GVH envisions these SMRs as integral to future applications like desalination, CO2 capture, SynGas production, etc. Perhaps this will be the focus at Durham?

 

[Whitenuckler]

Good question. According to GE Vernova Hitachi, Ontario Power Generation contracted with GE Vernova to build four of its BWRX-300 small modular reactors (SMRs) at the Darlington New Nuclear Project site. When constructed, each unit will deliver enough electricity to power 300,000 Toronto homes and is 10% the size and complexity of a traditional boiling water reactor (BWR).

Having a training, engineering, and design service nearby makes sense. There will be training and maintenance needs for a long time. GVH envisions these SMRs as integral to future applications like desalination, CO2 capture, SynGas production, etc. Perhaps this will be the focus at Durham?

There's lots of nuclear in that area already and a good work force. There's Darlington, Pickering and Bruce. You are going to need a lot of design engineers and field engineers along with a strong service/warranty department. I was never from there, but lived up the road. I think it's great news. I hope it catches on.

 

[woodgeek]

Having a training, engineering, and design service nearby makes sense. There will be training and maintenance needs for a long time. GVH envisions these SMRs as integral to future applications like desalination, CO2 capture, SynGas production, etc. Perhaps this will be the focus at Durham?

While I am skeptical of SMNRs in general, I can concede their need in certain settings where the moderate to high costs (which I assume) are justifiable. Like 10-25 cents/kWh. Far northern locations where solar has poor performance, certainly on a seasonal basis, for example. And a future economic environment where fossil sources are regulated out, or heavily carbon taxed.

That said, the applications mentioned are ones where 'too cheap to meter' power, usually assumed to be surplus from solar generation, are required. Desalination and CO2 capture are currently quite expensive on a energy input basis, and only make sense at a price/kWh which is very low by current/historical standards.... like pennies per kWh.

The idea that SMNRs will reach THAT level of cost per kWh is IMO an outright fantasy, and the shareholders should be very concerned.