Micro-reactors may be main key in solving energy issues

A small modular reactor that could be built quickly in a factory for a tenth the cost of a big nuclear power plant and supply electricity without contributing to global warming might seem like an energy miracle that's too good to be true. But if Energy Secretary Steven Chu is right, a micro-reactor might become a reality by the end of this decade.

No bigger than a railroad car and capable of turning out 45 megawatts to 140 megawatts of electricity, micro-reactors could be manufactured in half the time it takes to build a large 1,100-megawatt nuclear plant, transported by rail or barge, and installed at dozens of power plant sites around the United States. Shielded by containment structures, micro-reactors would be located underground, and deployed sequentially one next to the other as the need for additional electricity generating capacity in each locale grows.

Designs for several types of micro-reactors - some use conventional light-water reactor technology, while others employ more advanced high-temperature systems that work with molten sodium instead of water - are expected to be submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for certification within two to three years.

"For the industry, small modular reactors may be an alternative option for the high capital costs of larger commercial reactors and may provide better flexibility for certain electrical grid systems," NRC Commissioner William Ostendorff recently said. "For lawmakers, small modular reactors could offer another alternative to help meet our future energy needs in a balanced manner."

Another benefit: micro-reactors are being designed to use either air-cooled or water-cooled systems. With air-cooling, a micro-reactor would not need to be sited near a river, lake or ocean. That feature would be especially important to electricity companies in arid regions such as the Southwest.

Several nuclear companies, including Westinghouse and Babcock & Wilcox, are developing micro-reactor designs for commercial use in the U.S. and abroad. Babcock & Wilcox, based in Lynchburg , Va., has been making small reactors for the U.S. Navy to power nuclear submarines since the 1950s. The U.S. fleet of nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers has a stellar safety record.

Bigger not necessarily better

Companies don't have to be big to come up with innovative designs, particularly in the areas of reactor safety and proliferation safeguards. NuScale Power, in Oregon, has a micro-reactor that measures 15-by-60-feet, designed to generate 45 megawatts of electricity.

Another firm, Intellectual Ventures, based in the Seattle area, is developing a small "traveling wave" reactor that uses primarily depleted uranium instead of enriched uranium. Depleted uranium has a number of advantages - most importantly, a smaller amount of uranium is required to create the same amount of power. It could run for 60 years or more before being refueled.

Microsoft's Bill Gates is a major investor in Intellectual Ventures. A strong advocate of nuclear energy, Gates believes that a competitive and thriving reactor market could revive the U.S. nuclear manufacturing sector and bolster America's position as world leader in nuclear technology. Micro-reactors, he says, could serve a number of beneficial purposes: meet the growing need for carbon-free energy, replace fossil-fuel power plants, and provide industrial applications such as processed heat for oil-shale production and nuclear desalination.

Without increased government support for nuclear research and development, we run the risk of being outpaced by countries such as China and India. The Obama Administration's 2011 fiscal-year budget includes $39 million for small reactors. That's too little, but it's not a lost cause.

Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., has introduced a bill with bipartisan support that would establish a partnership between government and industry to work on small reactor research, with the goal of accelerating the entry of micro-reactors into the marketplace.

If we've learned anything in recent years, it's that nuclear power must be a key component of our energy supply if we hope to meet growing demand for electricity and prevent climate change. Micro-reactors will be able to play an important role.

The author is founder and president of Radiation Safety Associates Inc. and of RSA Laboratories in Hebron.