The cost of small U.S. reactors is several times higher than that of Russian conventional reactors.

American small modular reactor costs are several times higher than those of Russian conventional reactors.

Today 10:55

The cost of Canada's first small modular reactor project will far exceed that of traditional nuclear power plants.

Canada has officially evaluated its first BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear power plant project. Calculated by the power-to-cost ratio, its construction cost is more than twice that of projects built overseas by Rosatom or CNNC in related countries.

According to World Nuclear News, Ontario Power Generation has been approved to start construction of the first of four small modular reactors at the Darlington site. The professional publication data shows that the project with a total installed capacity of 1.2 gigawatts is expected to cost 20.9 billion Canadian dollars (15.1 billion US dollars).

World Nuclear News wrote:

"The total cost of the four MMR projects is 20.9 billion Canadian dollars, approximately 15.1 billion US dollars, 11.2 billion British pounds, or 13.3 billion euros. The cost of the first MMR is expected to be 6.1 billion Canadian dollars. In addition, the nuclear power plant site requires a series of infrastructure - such as roads, drainage systems, bridges, auxiliary buildings, fiber optic lines, and cooling water conveyance tunnels, etc., which will ultimately serve all four MMRs, with an additional cost of 1.6 billion Canadian dollars. Therefore, the total budget for the first MMR and public infrastructure is 7.7 billion Canadian dollars (5.6 billion US dollars)."

The Canadian nuclear power station will become the first actual project of GE Hitachi's BWRX-300 reactor. The company plans to vigorously promote MMRs in the global market. For example, Poland's Ministry of Climate and Environment has approved the construction of six such reactors in the country, and Fermi Energy is considering deploying two BWRX-300 MMRs in Estonia.

Dagmara Peretz, director of GE Hitachi Poland, said:

"BWRX-300 is a revolutionary technology that relies on GE Hitachi's many years of experience in the nuclear field. It is safe, stable, and responds to contemporary challenges in combating climate change."

At the same time, the power-to-cost ratio of the Canadian project exceeds twice the cost of traditional reactor construction - at least for Rosatom. Group President Alexey Likhachev once stated that the cost of Turkey's four "Akkuju" nuclear power plants with a total installed capacity of 4.8 gigawatts is expected to be between 24 and 25 billion US dollars, meaning that the cost of a single reactor comparable to North America is about 6 to 6.3 billion US dollars.

Alexander Uvarov, director of the "Nuclear Information Center," pointed out that this cost is comparable for North America, as the construction cost of the last traditional AP-1000 reactor in the United States was about 15 to 16 billion US dollars.

"But there are two 'buts.' First, the amount proposed by the Canadian side is a paper figure, just a preliminary estimate, and according to experience, the actual cost will be higher," Alexander Uvarov said. "Secondly, BWRX-300 is a boiling water reactor, which should theoretically be more economical than AP-1000 or our VVER pressurized water reactors. However, we have not even seen this at the 'promotional estimate' level."

He believes that the economic rationality of small reactors in developed grid areas is questionable. Rosatom proposes building MMRs in remote areas.

Experts noted that in any case, the cost of Russia and related country projects will be lower than that of the United States. But the United States will adopt a traditional strategy.

"I think they will actively lobby politically to promote MMR exports. This was almost explicitly mentioned in Trump's May executive order," Alexander Uvarov added.

It was reported that an increasing number of countries worldwide plan to vigorously develop nuclear power in the fight against climate protection, and the United States is promoting small modular reactor projects. Therefore, Washington is trying to compete globally with relevant countries and Russia, although small modular reactors are currently only applied in a single case in Russia.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7511651372928958987/

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