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Dive Brief

$60/MWh for advanced nuclear electricity is achievable, says GE
Hitachi executive

Published Aug. 22, 2022
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Robert Walton Senior Reporter

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Dive Brief:

  * Small modular nuclear reactors can be developed with a levelized
    cost of electricity of about $60/MWh, Jon Ball, executive vice
    president of market development at GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy,
    said Friday on a panel hosted by the U.S. Energy Association. The
    company is developing the 300-MW BWRX-300 small modular reactor.
  * A recent poll by the Nuclear Energy Institute predicted that at
    $60/MWh, there could be about 90 GW of SMR capacity on the U.S.
    grid by 2050.
  * NuScale has developed the first SMR design to receive approval
    from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and has projected a $58/
    MWh LCOE for a project with Utah Associated Municipal Power
    Systems, though some critics doubt the company can achieve that.

Dive Insight:

Cost is a key component in the development of new nuclear resources,
and critics points to recent overruns at traditional reactor projects
in South Carolina and Georgia as cautionary tales amid falling
renewables prices.

Santee Cooper and SCANA Corp. eventually abandoned their South
Carolina project when cost estimates topped $25 billion. In Georgia,
with Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power as the primary
owner, Vogtle units 3 and 4 are years behind schedule and billions of
dollars over their initial budget.

Meanwhile, the costs of renewables and storage are falling.
Utility-scale solar-plus-storage costs are about $45/MWh; wind power
costs are $30/MWh; and stand-alone utility-scale solar costs are at
$32/MWh, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and
Financial Analysis. And that group has doubts that SMRs can be
developed as cheaply as their backers claim.

SMRs are a new technology, and "if you look at the cost of the first
one that rolls off, it's going to be fairly high," U.S. Nuclear
Industry Council President and CEO Bud Albright said at the USEA
event Friday. But, he added, "we're counting on volume, and volume is
predicted. And so that should bring costs down."

GE Hitachi's Ball called the $60/MWh cost "achievable."

"We believe that the future of nuclear is in small modular reactors,"
he said. "The industry's focus for decades has been on large
reactors, but you've seen what has occurred in terms of these
projects going over budget, way past schedule. ... The reason we
pivoted was to create a design that could be cost-competitive with
all forms of generation."

SMRs will have a longevity advantage over renewables, Albright added.
"A small modular reactor should last a minimum of 60 years. Probably
more, up to 100, frankly, if maintained properly. Wind and solar,
after about 20 years you have to replace everything."

Even at a higher price, there is a market for SMRs, said NEI Vice
President and Chief Nuclear Officer Doug True.

The group surveyed members about a $60/MWh resource and found that
members would install 90 GW by 2050. 

"When we raised our price to $90 per megawatt hour, the number drops
a little bit but is still interesting because of the value nuclear
brings to the overall system in terms of reliability and
versatility," True said.

Recommended Reading

  * NRC to certify NuScale small modular reactor design for use in
    the US By Larry Pearl * Aug. 1, 2022

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Filed Under: Generation

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    Dominion CFO Steven Ridge said the company has decided to invest
    capital elsewhere after using the projects to develop solar
    expertise that it can use on the regulated side of its business.

    By Diana DiGangi * Feb. 10, 2023
  * Solar panels. Image attribution tooltip
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    with planned 10-MW Texas solar farm

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