NUCLEAR AS BASELOAD OR MORE? | COVER STORY
Above: Users may change the way they use power over the lifetime of a nuclear plant, which in current discourse may reach a century
The new watchword is ‘whole system’ management
of flexibility: using excess power in a variety of ways. In downward flexibility whether that is to charge vehicle batteries, to boost large heat stores in district heat systems, to electrolyse hydrogen or to prime other forms of storage such as pumped hydro or compressed air. In some cases a nuclear plant may be consistently allocating part of its production for such customers, with an agreement to reduce supply where extra power is needed by the system operator; in other cases the customer may benefit from accepting extra energy because the system operator has asked the nuclear operator to reduce exports to the grid. Both, of course, depend on the type of flexibility available. But an active and responsive generator with a portfolio of sources can use fast and slow flexibility in concert, and allowing, for example, a battery to respond within a few seconds, with nuclear load following more slowly and other sources filling the gap. The need for flexibility has driven the industry towards
small modular reactors. But with the right attitude it is possible that large nuclear too can retain a place in the power portfolio. Nuclear’s bulk supply has had its disadvantages as well as advantages, requiring not only enough demand, but enough reserve and response in case of plant shutdown. But if, as envisaged, the future is one of ‘electrify everything’ including transport and heat, electricity demand multiplies and the drive to large scale installations applies across the electricity industry. Alongside gigawatt-scale nuclear will be similar scale
offshore wind farms and interconnectors. Great Britain is a case in point: at 1250 MW Sizewell B was for many years the largest in-feed in the country’s grid. But the East Coast, where it is situated, is also now the landing site for the world’s largest offshore wind farm, Dogger Bank, which will total 3.6 GW when complete. The region also has two gigawatt-sized interconnectors, which could see a shift of
4 GW in short order if they both switched from full import to full export. Large nuclear may no longer be the grid’s largest potential in-feed risk. The question for nuclear operators is how they can use
nuclear’s strengths to meet the new needs of customers who are no longer seeking long-term contracts for bulk power. If nuclear alone cannot respond in a way that meets market needs, how can operators find partnerships where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts and customers get a compelling proposition? Nuclear can’t be a large standalone supplier any more. It has to be part of a more responsive package. ■
Above: The need for flexibility has driven the industry towards small modular reactors, but with the right attitude it is possible that large nuclear too can retain a place in the power portfolio
www.neimagazine.com | April 2024 | 21
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57
