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Publicatie Laka-bibliotheek:
Small Modular Reactors and ‘Advanced’ or ‘Generation IV’ Reactor Concepts

Auteur	J.Green, FOE Australia
	6-01-3-60-13.pdf
Datum	juni 2023
Classificatie	6.01.3.60/13 (VEILIGHEID - REACTOREN - REST TYPES, KLEINE REACTOREN (SMR))
Voorkant

Small Modular Reactors and ‘Advanced’ or ‘Generation IV’ Reactor Concepts
Briefing Paper
Jim Green, Friends of the Earth Australia
June 2023

Introduction to SMRs
'Small modular reactors' (SMRs) would have a capacity of under 300 megawatts 
(MW), whereas large reactors typically have a capacity of about 1,000 MW. 
Construction at reactor sites would be replaced with standardised factory 
production of reactor components (or ‘modules’) then installation at the 
reactor site. The term ‘modular’ also refers to the option of building 
clusters of small reactors at the same site.
SMRs don't have any meaningful existence. Some small reactors exist, and 
there are hopes and dreams of mass factory production of SMRs. But currently 
there is no such SMR mass manufacturing capacity, and no company, consortium, 
utility or national government is seriously considering betting billions 
building an SMR mass manufacturing capacity.
With near-zero prospects for new large nuclear power reactors in Western 
countries, SMRs are being promoted to rescue an industry that even nuclear 
lobbyists acknowledge is in crisis.1 In essence, the nuclear industry's 
solution to its expensive and uncompetitive large reactors is to offer up 
even more expensive power from SMRs.
Previous attempts to build SMRs have failed and there is no reason to expect 
success now. M.V. Ramana concludes an analysis of the history of SMRs:
"Once again, we see history repeating itself in today's claims for small 
reactors ‒ that the demand will be large, that they will be cheap and quick 
to construct. But nothing in the history of small nuclear reactors suggests 
that they would be more economical than full-size ones. In fact, the record 
is pretty clear: Without exception, small reactors cost too much for the 
little electricity they produced, the result of both their low output and 
their poor performance."
No private sector SMR projects have reached the construction stage. A small 
number of SMRs are under construction, by state nuclear agencies in Russia, 
China and Argentina. Most or all of them are over-budget and behind schedule. 
None are factory built (the essence of the concept of modular reactors).