Small Nuclear Reactor—Nordic District Heating Case Study

Antti Teräsvirta, Sanna Syri and Pauli Hiltunen
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Antti Teräsvirta: Fortum Power and Heat Oy, 02150 Espoo, Finland
Sanna Syri: Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, Aalto University, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland
Pauli Hiltunen: Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, Aalto University, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 15, 1-16

Abstract: Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) have been recognized to have potential in decarbonizing district heating, which is currently an urgent sustainability challenge in many European countries. In this paper, the financial impacts of replacing peat and biomass-powered Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants with heat-only reactors of 24–200 MW power range and maximum output temperatures of 120 °C are studied. A district heating system of a medium-sized Nordic city in Eastern Finland is modeled with EnergyPRO computer software (EMD International A/S, Aalborg, Denmark), which is used to optimize plant units’ production for cost effectiveness. A future scenario is used to predict electricity prices, expenditures from CO 2 emission allowances, and fuel prices for the studied case. Results show that the low operating expenditures of CO 2 free heat-only reactors would compensate for the revenue losses from electricity sales and that a small number of micro reactors, with power output in the tens of megawatts range each, would be optimal for the studied case. Since investment cost estimates for SMRs still bear significant uncertainties, the subject should be followed in further studies, as heat-only SMRs could provide a profitable alternative for current CHP production in the future.

Keywords: small modular reactor; combined heat and power; production costs; profitability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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