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Licensing small modular reactors

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  • Ramana, M.V.
  • Hopkins, Laura Berzak
  • Glaser, Alexander

Abstract

Small modular reactor designs with power levels of less than 300 MWe are being developed in several countries. While there are several potential advantages with these reactors, they are also confronted with multiple challenges. Important among these challenges is to have these new reactor designs licensed by national regulatory bodies. Because of the many novel features incorporated in different SMR (small modular reactor) designs, careful and thorough licensing procedures are critical to maintaining safety of the nuclear fleet. This paper examines how different countries have engaged in the process of licensing new reactor designs, and demonstrates both similarities and differences between countries. In many cases, designers have emphasized the safer design and deployment features of SMRs and attempted to use those features as reasons to get existing licensing requirements diluted. This raises the concern that the promised safety enhancements in SMR designs could be offset by a simultaneous relaxation of licensing requirements.

Suggested Citation

  • Ramana, M.V. & Hopkins, Laura Berzak & Glaser, Alexander, 2013. "Licensing small modular reactors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 555-564.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:61:y:2013:i:c:p:555-564
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2013.09.010
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    Cited by:

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    2. Ahmad, Ali & Ramana, M.V., 2014. "Too costly to matter: Economics of nuclear power for Saudi Arabia," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 682-694.
    3. Alonso, Gustavo & Bilbao, Sama & Valle, Edmundo del, 2016. "Economic competitiveness of small modular reactors versus coal and combined cycle plants," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 116(P1), pages 867-879.
    4. Haneklaus, Nils & Schröders, Sarah & Zheng, Yanhua & Allelein, Hans-Josef, 2017. "Economic evaluation of flameless phosphate rock calcination with concentrated solar power and high temperature reactors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 140(P1), pages 1148-1157.
    5. Mignacca, Benito & Locatelli, Giorgio & Sainati, Tristano, 2020. "Deeds not words: Barriers and remedies for Small Modular nuclear Reactors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    6. Iyer, Gokul & Hultman, Nathan & Fetter, Steve & Kim, Son H., 2014. "Implications of small modular reactors for climate change mitigation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 144-154.
    7. Froese, Sarah & Kunz, Nadja C. & Ramana, M.V., 2020. "Too small to be viable? The potential market for small modular reactors in mining and remote communities in Canada," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    8. Vegel, Benjamin & Quinn, Jason C., 2017. "Economic evaluation of small modular nuclear reactors and the complications of regulatory fee structures," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 395-403.
    9. Dong, Zhe & Liu, Miao & Zhang, Zuoyi & Dong, Yujie & Huang, Xiaojin, 2019. "Automatic generation control for the flexible operation of multimodular high temperature gas-cooled reactor plants," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 11-31.
    10. Frederik Reitsma & Peter Woods & Martin Fairclough & Yongjin Kim & Harikrishnan Tulsidas & Luis Lopez & Yanhua Zheng & Ahmed Hussein & Gerd Brinkmann & Nils Haneklaus & Anand Rao Kacham & Tumuluri Sre, 2018. "On the Sustainability and Progress of Energy Neutral Mineral Processing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-18, January.
    11. Carless, Travis S. & Talabi, Sola M. & Fischbeck, Paul S., 2019. "Risk and regulatory considerations for small modular reactor emergency planning zones based on passive decontamination potential," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 740-756.
    12. Seyed Ali Hosseini & Reza Akbari & Amir Saeed Shirani & Francesco D’Auria, 2023. "Small Modular Reactors Licensing Process Based on BEPU Approach: Status and Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-15, April.
    13. Gangyang, Zheng & Xianke, Peng & Xiaozhen, Li & Yexi, Kang & Xiangeng, Zhao, 2021. "Research on the standardization strategy of China's nuclear industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).

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