A Demonstration Project Coupling a Small Modular Reactor with a Hybrid Nuclear Renewable Oil Shale System

摘要

It is proposed that a first-of-a-kind SMR demonstration project be combined with a first-of-a-kind hybrid nuclear renewable oil shale system (NROSS). NROSS potentially offers (I) the enabling technology for a low-carbon electrical grid for the western United States, (2) the lowest carbon footprint production method for fossil liquid fuels, and (3) a strategy to enhance nuclear plant revenue. NROSS potentially represent half of the market in the U.S. for SMRs and thus, there are large incentives to simultaneously demonstrate the combined reactor and oil shale system. In both cases, the demonstration must address technical, regulatory, and institutional issues. The SMR demonstration can be structured so that any delays in the hybrid nuclear renewable oil shale system would not impact the SMR demonstration. Such a system cuts across organizations, including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Land Management, and state regulatory agencies. It involves oil companies and utilities. The complexity of the regulatory, business, and institutional challenges require a demonstration project before commercial scale systems could be deployed.