Nuclear power has always been considered as an important way to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Nuclear power has great potential, but there are also great disputes. According to the data of the World Nuclear Association (WNA), there are currently more than 600 reactors operating in the world, scattered in more than 50 countries, providing about one tenth of the world's electricity consumption.
However, with the surge in world power demand, people worry that large-scale nuclear power may not be able to deal with the problem. For example, the production cost of Hinkley Point C in the UK is rising. Compared with fossil fuel power generation equipment, the third-generation nuclear power technology is not mature.
Small modular reactor (SMR) has become a potential treatment scheme for the nuclear industry. The World Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) defines reactors with electric power less than 300MW as small reactors.
It is worth noting that SMR rarely meets the logistics challenges and costs of spiral addition of large nuclear power, and it is small and sensitive, and can be deployed in a variety of environments. However, SMR still has many challenges in terms of capital and technology.
Rolls-Royce will build 16 miniature nuclear reactors in the UK
Recently, a consortium led by Rolls-Royce, a British auto giant, is carrying out the SMR project. The consortium plans to build 16 miniature nuclear reactors in the UK.
It is estimated that these reactors will supply up to 400MW of electricity, equivalent to about 150 onshore wind power plants, and will be put into commercial operation in 2028. At present, all seven nuclear power units in operation in the UK will be decommissioned before 2035, when the power supply will be reduced by one fifth.
Rolls-Royce also highlighted other economic benefits generated by the SMR project, such as 40000 jobs will be created in the SMR industrial chain. The project also received about US $25 million from the government, which will promote the investment of private and public assets.
However, the project also faces challenges.
Most of the financial feasibility of this intention depends on SMR's global export. By 2035, the output value of the global SMR profession will reach about 546 billion dollars. However, the UK's position in the global nuclear industry has been weakened due to the rigid connection between the UK and its former trading partners due to the Brexit.
In addition, the UK's development plan for other traditional clean power (such as renewable power) may prevent the investment in nuclear power. Statista's data shows that by 2035, when the UK's nuclear power units are decommissioned, the UK will use renewable power to compensate for 70GW of power generation gaps.
By comparison, the planned power generation of new nuclear power is only 13GW. This shows that even with considerable financial support, the role of UK nuclear power in the power structure is still limited.
Rosatom will build a 50MW SMR unit
Rosatom, the Russian nuclear energy company, announced at the end of 2020 that it had reached an agreement on the power price of SMR in Yakut region in the eastern part of the country. The SMR has a power of 50MW, which can help the region reduce its carbon emissions by 10000 tons per year.
This project is the latest measure taken by Yakut region to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. Due to the extreme climate factors in the region, the reliability of renewable power such as solar energy is very low, so it is believed that SMR can provide lasting clean power for the region.
Rosatom also stressed the other economic benefits of this intention. For example, due to the higher reliability of nuclear power, the power cost in this region will be reduced by two times, and 800 local jobs have been created in the production and operation of SMR.
The United States passed the first SMR planning certification
In September 2020, after the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviewed the SMR developed by NuScale Power for four years, it passed the first SMR planning certification.
With regulatory approval, NuScale hopes that the project will have a beneficial impact on its own finance and the American SMR career. In fact, the latest progress of this intention has proved its concept. The planned power of its SMR module was 60MW at the beginning, but now it has been increased to 77MW.
NuScale's SMR has many safety functions to minimize the impact of disasters on nuclear equipment. A nuclear power unit composed of many SMRs, each SMR is separately arranged in the containment with a diameter of 4.6 m, instead of being arranged in a large pile in the containment with a diameter of 40 m.
The containment of SMR can withstand up to 15 times the pressure, with higher safety. In addition, the pressure vessel was submerged in the pool, and the rated residual heat export measures were provided, which was difficult to complete in a large pile.
However, it remains to be investigated whether the project can deal with the primary challenge (cost issue) faced by many nuclear equipment in the United States. Although the United States is the largest nuclear power generation country in the world, accounting for more than 30% of global nuclear power generation, many power stations in the United States cannot complete the surplus and are forced to retire ahead of schedule.
From 2013 to 2020, there are 10 units in the United States that have been decommissioned in advance, with a total power generation of 9GW. NuScale's SMR has not been commercially tested in the United States, so it is unclear whether it will bring long-term economic benefits.
South Africa Restarts Spherical Bed Modular Reactor
South Africa first developed the Spherical Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) in the 1990s. The SMR has a power of 110MW and is cooled by helium. Therefore, the SMR can be deployed in South Africa and other countries with limited water resources.
South Africa's power structure is seriously unbalanced, and such projects are particularly important for South Africa. In 2016, 69% of South Africa's primary power came from coal and 14% from crude oil.
Renewable power, natural gas and nuclear power are the three most valued and funded power in the world, accounting for only 11%, 3% and 3% respectively.
The government statement of South Africa in 2019 pointed out that South Africa is very rich in uranium reserves, accounting for 5.2% of the world's proven uranium deposits. This shows that as long as South Africa is willing to invest in the development of nuclear-related technologies, there will be great development prospects.
Eskom, the South African power company, has been committed to the development of PBMR. Eskom has been protecting and maintaining these reactors. In January 2020, Eskom said that it was seeking investors to participate in the project and develop its potential. As the driving force of South Africa is dominated by state-owned enterprises, the influence of private investment is still unclear. Therefore, there are still doubts about whether the project can regenerate.
The Texas blackout proved that nuclear power was still stable

In the middle and late February of 2021, Texas (hereinafter referred to as Texas) in the United States experienced a historic extreme cold current climate, and the power system nearly collapsed. Nuclear power generation shows strong ability to resist disasters in extremely cold climate.

What happened to the blackout after all? What kind of dynamic structure can better prevent similar incidents?
1. There is a short board in the safety and reliability of Texas power supply
The low security of the power supply is the root cause of the power failure. Affected by the polar climate, the output of natural gas and wind power generation units, which account for 70% of the total power generation in Texas, the United States, dropped by 40%, resulting in a severe imbalance between on-grid electricity and electricity load.
As the primary fuel for power generation, natural gas was cut off due to freezing of gas wells and ice blockage of pipelines, and could not continue to generate electricity, resulting in a power gap of 30 million kilowatts. As the third largest power source, wind power is paralyzed due to the freezing of wind turbines, which highlights the problem that renewable power is vulnerable to climate and has low reliability.
The power supply structure is unreasonable, and the proportion of nuclear energy with stable power supply is too low to fill the power gap. In this Texas power outage, nuclear power was relatively stable, with four nuclear power units maintaining 75% of the expected capacity and recovering rapidly to 100%. Nuclear power is not easily affected by climate, and has strong ability to withstand the disasters of extreme climate. It can be used as a zero-carbon base load power supply all day long. Compared with natural gas power generation, nuclear power is more safe and reliable.
However, due to the relatively low share of nuclear power generation in Texas, the power gap caused by this disaster cannot be filled. Although the output of coal-electric units was affected by the freezing of some coal piles and equipment, it supported the minimum power supply of Texas during the disaster together with nuclear power.
2. Nuclear power is an important choice to improve the safety and reliability of power supply
We should give full play to the advantages of nuclear power safety and ensure the safety of power supply under the extreme weather disaster. With the aggravation of global climate change, the problem of power supply safety caused by polar climate is prominent. In addition to the power outage in Texas, California, the United States, in 2019, due to the extreme heat climate, the demand for electricity increased sharply, resulting in a large-scale power outage. However, its renewable power reform was too fast to supply sufficient and stable electricity to cope with the increase in demand, which became the primary reason for the power outage.
Renewable power such as scenery is vulnerable to the impact of climate, with volatility and intermittency. When large-scale access to the power grid, it needs to be supported by stable base load power supply. Nuclear power has advantages in safety, efficiency and stability. It can be used as a zero-carbon clean power for the safe and stable supply of electricity around the clock. It can provide strong support for the access of renewable power to the grid. It can become a stable and reliable dispatching base load power supply in the event of extreme climate disasters.
Rapid recovery from local power crisis must rely on local safe and stable base load power supply. This time, the local base load power supply of Texas in the United States was affected by the polar climate, and its ability to generate electricity declined. The surrounding states were also faced with the opposition between the soaring demand for power supply and the lack of power supply, and were unable to provide support. Moreover, the relatively independent power grid of Texas limited their ability to accept external power grid transmission.
Last winter, affected by the winter cold current, the demand for electricity in Hunan, Jiangxi and other places in China increased sharply. Due to the lack of local renewable power output, the power transmission outside the province was limited, and the local lack of safe and stable power as an emergency to fill the power gap, the situation of power supply tension occurred in many places, and the power was forced to switch off and limit.
The regional base load power supply can not only supply power to the region in peacetime, but also alleviate the emergence of power crisis or recover quickly in case of sudden disasters. Therefore, it is very important to ensure the construction of regional safe and stable base load power supply.
Ensure the balance between power supply and heating, which is conducive to climate change. The natural gas supply in Texas was cut off due to pipeline ice blockage, and the only available natural gas was given priority to household and enterprise heating, and the natural gas supply of power plants was further cut, which directly led to a 40% reduction in natural gas power generation capacity, forming a blackout crisis. China should explore multiple heating methods, including nuclear heating, to reduce the pressure of natural gas demand and jointly ensure power supply safety.
3. Related claims
Add the proportion of nuclear power in the power system to diversify the power structure. In the face of the future demand for low-carbon power, nuclear power and renewable power are important ways to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality. The diversification of power supply structure is conducive to enhancing the adjustability of power supply, improving its reliability and ensuring the safety of power supply.
It advocates to increase the proportion of nuclear power under the premise of ensuring safety, and support the grid voltage and emergency completion frequency in terms of dispatching output. Reasonably coordinate the proportion of clean power such as nuclear, water, wind and light, build a hybrid power system that is harmonious with nuclear and renewable power, and ensure power safety to the maximum extent.
Add supporting nuclear power sources in central China and optimize the power space layout. In the polar climate, after the regional power network is interrupted, nuclear power can continue to output stably for a long time to ensure the regional power safety. The resources in Central China are limited, the fundamental development of hydropower resources is over, and the number of scenic resources is limited,
Coal power is transferred from other provinces to power coal, and a considerable part of electric power is transferred from extra-high voltage external network. It is proposed to approve the Taohuajiang nuclear power project in Hunan during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, add support power to the central China regional power grid, improve the harmony and sensitivity of the regional power system, and prepare for the polar climate disaster.
Pay attention to the comprehensive use of nuclear energy and promote the optimization of power system. More than 60% of the regions and more than 50% of the population in China need heating in winter. Under the current heating structure, relatively severe environmental pollution and haze climate have been formed.
As a clean power, nuclear energy is an important heating resource. Compared with coal and natural gas heating, nuclear energy heating can effectively reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and soot particles. It advocates accelerating the construction of comprehensive use items such as nuclear energy heating, including nuclear energy heating, putting nuclear energy heating into the "Fourteenth Five-Year Plan" of national power, completing the clean replacement of heating, and helping China reach the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality.