small modular reactors

Hyperion Power Generation has been one of the more interesting and vocal companies in the small modular reactor (SMR) business during the past few years. I have attended a number of conferences and meetings at which John “Grizz” Deal and/or his sister Deborah Blackwell have been featured speakers or the centers of interested crowds in...[read more]

Bernie Sanders and Small Modular Reactors Senator Bernie Sanders often speaks about his opposition to Vermont Yankee as having something to do with the age of the plant, the fact it is owned by Entergy, or his "state's rights" stance about regulating nuclear power plants.Recently, however, Sanders made it clear that he is against nuclear...[read more]

Interest is growing in the class of units rated at 300 MW or lessRecent developments in the field of small modular reactors (SMRs) suggest that the nuclear renaissance in the U.S. may come in two sizes. The first size, at ratings in terms of electricity generation of 1,000 MW or more, has a near term future that involves eight...[read more]

Computer modelers can trip up in two ways. The model may be poorly designed in the first place. Secondly the data input may be flawed. As the old saying goes, "garbage in, garbage out." Models need to be tested, but if your model is designed to predict the future. and you foresee major changes in the future, and you want to predict...[read more]

My colleague (and member of my dissertation committee) Dr. David McNelis had an excellent Op-Ed in the Raleigh News and Observer yesterday touting the safety and economics advantages of small modular reactors (SMRs). A snippet:In contrast to a conventional nuclear plant, SMRs could be added one at a time in a cluster of modules, as...[read more]

The combined effects of the earthquake and tsunami illustrate the risks of putting all your eggs in one basket The architecture of energy distribution in major industrial nations like Japan, the U.S., France, the U.K. , and Germany is based on very large power plants, often several at a single site, which are tied into huge transmission...[read more]

Download the Audio File Here Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are getting a lot of attention in the nuclear industry because they offer great potential for lower initial capital investment, scalability, and they come in sizes more appropriate for locations unable to accommodate larger 1000+ MW units.  However, there are some big...[read more]

In less than two weeks, I will be attending the Platts Small Modular Reactor meeting being held in Washington, DC on June 28 and 29. Electric Utility Consultants, Inc. (EUCI) is hosting a Small, Modular, & Mini Nuclear Reactor Workshop July 19-20, 2010 in Arlington, VA. I received an invitation yesterday to speak at a conference...[read more]

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has posted a Policy Issue Information document dated March 28, 2010 titled POTENTIAL POLICY, LICENSING, AND KEY TECHNICAL ISSUES FOR SMALL MODULAR NUCLEAR REACTOR DESIGNS. The document number is SECY-10-0034. It is a fairly typical redundant, bureaucratically phrased work, but it contains a number of...[read more]

On Thursday, October 8 and Friday, October 9, the US Nuclear Regulator Commission hosted a workshop to discuss generic issues related to licensing of small and medium-sized nuclear reactors. The meeting was billed as the first in a series on the topic. The NRC managers responsible for Advanced Reactors organized the meeting because they...[read more]