IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/crtinf/v1y2020i2p37-72.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How Nuclear Power Can Transform Electric Grid and Critical Infrastructure Resilience

Author

Listed:
  • Sherrell R. Greene

Abstract

No element of a nation's Critical Infrastructure (CI) is more essential than the electric Grid—the system that generates and delivers electricity to power homes, businesses, industry, other Critical Infrastructure, and a nation's Strategic Asset Supply Chains (SASCs). Grid resilience—the Grid's ability to anticipate, absorb, adapt to, and recover from major disruptions, and to rapidly restore electric service in the wake of them—is a matter of paramount importance. This paper examines the potential for nuclear power (and particularly the development of a new generation of resilient Nuclear Power Plants, or “rNPPS”) to transform Grid, CI, and SASC resilience via deployment of rNPPs in resilient Critical Infrastructure Islands, or “rCIIs.” The nature of society's dependence on electricity and the Grid that generates and delivers electricity to consumers is briefly examined. The scope of natural hazards and malevolent human threats to the Grid are summarized. The concept of Grid resilience is next introduced. The role of current‐generation nuclear power plants in the Grid and in achieving Grid resilience is assessed. The two defining attributes and Six Functional Requirements of resilient Power Plants (rPPs) and resilient Nuclear Power Plants (rNPPs) are presented. Next, the results of a small survey and preliminary evaluation of the resilience attributes of some new Small Modular Reactor (SMR) and Micro Modular Reactor (MMR) nuclear power plant concepts are described. It is concluded that some SMR and MMR concepts are likely to exhibit some or all of the Six Functional Requirements of rNPPs. Barriers to development and deployment of rCIIs and rNPPs are briefly summarized. Finally, a few recommendations for efforts that can refine our understanding of the efficacy of rNPPs and rCIIs, and enable their development and deployment, are offered.

Suggested Citation

  • Sherrell R. Greene, 2020. "How Nuclear Power Can Transform Electric Grid and Critical Infrastructure Resilience," Journal of Critical Infrastructure Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 1(2), pages 37-72, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:crtinf:v:1:y:2020:i:2:p:37-72
    DOI: 10.18278/jcip.1.2.4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.18278/jcip.1.2.4
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.18278/jcip.1.2.4?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jenkins, J.D. & Zhou, Z. & Ponciroli, R. & Vilim, R.B. & Ganda, F. & de Sisternes, F. & Botterud, A., 2018. "The benefits of nuclear flexibility in power system operations with renewable energy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 872-884.
    2. Cowan, Robin, 1990. "Nuclear Power Reactors: A Study in Technological Lock-in," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(3), pages 541-567, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Samuel Averitt & Erik Dahl & Daniel Eisenberg, 2023. "The Electromagnetic Threat to the US: Resilience Strategy Recommendations," Journal of Critical Infrastructure Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 3(2), pages 125-150, September.
    2. Richard S. Mroz, 2023. "How Advanced Nuclear Generation Technologies Support Electric Grid Resilience," Journal of Critical Infrastructure Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 3(2), pages 29-36, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Johannes Urpelainen, 2012. "How do electoral competition and special interests shape the stringency of renewable energy standards?," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 14(1), pages 23-34, January.
    2. Alessia Berni & Mariavittoria Cicellin & Stefano Consiglio & Luigi Moschera, 2012. "The evolution of the Italian Temporary Work Agency field: A path dependence perspective," Discussion Papers 10_2012, CRISEI, University of Naples "Parthenope", Italy.
    3. Hötte, Kerstin & Pichler, Anton & Lafond, François, 2021. "The rise of science in low-carbon energy technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    4. Stavins, Robert & Jaffe, Adam & Newell, Richard, 2000. "Technological Change and the Environment," Working Paper Series rwp00-002, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    5. Derek Lemoine, 2024. "Innovation-Led Transitions in Energy Supply," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 16(1), pages 29-65, January.
    6. John Kemp & Ted Wilson, 1999. "Monetary Regime Transformation: The scramble to gold in the late nineteenth century," Review of Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(2), pages 125-149.
    7. Shane Greenstein, 2001. "Commercialization of the Internet: The Interaction of Public Policy and Private Choices or Why Introducing the Market Worked So Well," NBER Chapters, in: Innovation Policy and the Economy, Volume 1, pages 151-186, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Zohal Hessami, 2016. "How Do Voters React to Complex Choices in a Direct Democracy? Evidence from Switzerland," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(2), pages 263-293, May.
    9. Iossa, Elisabetta & Waterson, Michael, 2019. "Maintaining competition in recurrent procurement contracts: A case study on the London bus market," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 141-149.
    10. Murmann, Johann Peter & Frenken, Koen, 2006. "Toward a systematic framework for research on dominant designs, technological innovations, and industrial change," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 925-952, September.
    11. Alhadhrami, Saeed & Soto, Gabriel J & Lindley, Ben, 2023. "Dispatch analysis of flexible power operation with multi-unit small modular reactors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    12. Magrini, Marie-Benoit & Anton, Marc & Cholez, Célia & Corre-Hellou, Guenaelle & Duc, Gérard & Jeuffroy, Marie-Hélène & Meynard, Jean-Marc & Pelzer, Elise & Voisin, Anne-Sophie & Walrand, Stéphane, 2016. "Why are grain-legumes rarely present in cropping systems despite their environmental and nutritional benefits? Analyzing lock-in in the French agrifood system," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 152-162.
    13. Harison, Elad & Koski, Heli, 2006. "Innovative Software Business Strategies: Evidence from Finnish Firms," Discussion Papers 1042, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    14. Jin, Wei & Zhang, ZhongXiang, 2016. "On the mechanism of international technology diffusion for energy technological progress," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 39-61.
    15. Kuokkanen, A. & Nurmi, A. & Mikkilä, M. & Kuisma, M. & Kahiluoto, H. & Linnanen, L., 2018. "Agency in regime destabilization through the selection environment: The Finnish food system’s sustainability transition," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(8), pages 1513-1522.
    16. Marques, António Cardoso & Junqueira, Thibaut Manuel, 2022. "European energy transition: Decomposing the performance of nuclear power," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    17. Zhe Dong & Miao Liu & Di Jiang & Xiaojin Huang & Yajun Zhang & Zuoyi Zhang, 2018. "Automatic Generation Control of Nuclear Heating Reactor Power Plants," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-18, October.
    18. Hötte, Kerstin, 2020. "How to accelerate green technology diffusion? Directed technological change in the presence of coevolving absorptive capacity," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    19. Silvano Cincotti & Wolfram Elsner & Nathalie Lazaric & Anastasia Nesvetailova & Engelbert Stockhammer, 2020. "Towards an evolutionary political economy. Editorial to the inaugural issue of the Review of Evolutionary Political Economy REPE," Review of Evolutionary Political Economy, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 1-12, May.
    20. Bulat Sanditov, 2004. "ICT Revolution, Globalization and Informational Lock-in," Working Papers geewp39, Vienna University of Economics and Business Research Group: Growth and Employment in Europe: Sustainability and Competitiveness.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:crtinf:v:1:y:2020:i:2:p:37-72. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)2693-3101 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.