Small Modular Reactor (SMR)
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Illustration of a light water small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) The small modular reactor (SMR) is a class of small nuclear fission reactor, designed to be built in a factory, shipped to operational sites for installation and then used to power buildings or other commercial operations. The term SMR refers to the size, capacity and modular construction. Reactor type and the nuclear processes may vary. Of the many SMR designs, the pressurized water reactor (PWR) is the most common. However, recently proposed SMR designs include: generation IV, thermal-neutron reactors, fast-neutron reactors, molten salt, and gas-cooled reactor models.
Commercial SMRs have been designed to deliver an electrical power output as low as 5 MWe (electric) and up to 300 MWe per module. SMRs may also be designed purely for desalinization or facility heating rather than electricity. These SMRs are measured in megawatts thermal MWt. Many SMR designs rely on a modular system, allowing customers to simply add modules to achieve a desired electrical output.
Small reactors were first designed mostly for military purposes in the 1950s to power ballistic missile submarines and ships (aircraft carriers and ice breakers) with nuclear propulsion. There has been strong interest from technology corporations in using SMRs to power data centers.
The electrical output for modern naval reactors are generally limited to less than 165 MWe and dedicated to powering turboshaft props rather than delivering electricity. In addition, there are many more safety controls absent from naval reactors due to the space limitations these reactors were designed for.
Modular reactors are expected to reduce on-site construction and increase containment efficiency. These reactors are also expected to enhance safety by using passive safety features that do not require human intervention, although this is not specific to SMRs but rather a characteristic of most modern reactor designs. SMRs are also claimed to have lower power plant staffing costs, as their operation is fairly simple, and are claimed to have the ability to bypass financial and safety barriers that inhibit the construction of conventional reactors.
Working with Oregon State University (OSU), NuScale Power developed the first Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved model for the US market in 2022.
Operational SMRs
As of 2024, only China and Russia have successfully built operational SMRs. There are more than 80 modular reactor designs under development in 19 countries. Russia has been operating a floating nuclear power plant Akademik Lomonosov, in Russia's Far East (Pevek) commercially, since 2020. The floating plant is the first of its kind in the world. China's pebble-bed modular high-temperature gas-cooled reactor HTR-PM was connected to the grid in 2021.
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Maine as Third World Country:
CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power
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Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT
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(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/
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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law
Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future
"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."
https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/
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