Energy, Environment and Sustainability Group
In recent months, much has been written about the potential of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) but perhaps the most significant was the response orchestrated by Energy Technologies Institute[1] (ETI) to the Competition request from the Government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), now reconfigured as part of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial strategy (BEIS). This was presented at a seminar held at IET, Savoy Place in London on 28 September and was published on the ETI website the following day.
Three major consultancies contributed to the work. Atkins reported on potential sites and concluded that while there were several potential sites, eight exhibited the characteristics to support First of a Kind (FOAK) development. Mott MacDonald considered the heat supply potential from SMRs, a piece of work which supported a conclusion for any SMR development. DAS Ltd covered Deployment Enablers.
It was this latter work stream that occupied the majority of the seminar as it was the most recent of the three contributions. It covered the key actions by Government and others necessary to deliver a programme of SMRs in the UK with the FOAK being in operation by 2030. Only light water reactor variants of SMRs were considered as these are currently the most advanced, an essential point if the selected design sponsored by the reactor vendor is to get through the UK’s Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process in time to meet the programme. Support from Government for the regulators (ONR and EA) GDA process was seen as a key enabler. Other enablers by government related to the provision of a revised White Paper and strategic siting assessment along with support for Justification and the funded decommissioning arrangements. In brief all these actions could be summarised as reducing perceived investor risk, to facilitate a timely final Investment decision.
Other actions essential for the programme to be achieved were the close link characterised as an “early marriage” between the reactor vendor and the developer/operator (a key here was that the developer/operator was seen as the long-term plant owner/operator and Nuclear Site Licence holder). This grouping and its formative development would be facilitated by the government organising a “boot camp” to ensure that the group was familiar with the UK licensing and environmental permitting regime (unique to the UK). This approach was seen as key to encouraging the developer/operator to progress early the necessary Design Authority, Intelligent Customer and organisational characteristics essential for a UK Nuclear Site Licence Holder.
Based on the work, which was founded on a significant evidence base, it was concluded that, within the bounds of the study, confidence was high that given action by all parties but particularly by government the draft outline programme highlighting the main areas of activity could deliver the deployment of the FOAK SMR by 2030, and that this could be followed by a small fleet of SMR’s all constructed CHP ready.
[1]Energy Technologies Institute – A £400m industry and government funded research institute into low carbon energy system planning and technology development to address UK energy and climate change targets. Key members are: BP, EdF, Caterpillar, Rolls Royce, Shell, EPSRC, BEIS (Government Department) and Innovate UK.