NuScale SMR Transformation of Traditional Site Staffing Levels

摘要

The NuScale SMR design presents the nuclear industry with the opportunity to transform the traditional site organization structures for nuclear facilities and in turn significantly reducing the cost associated with staffing. The opportunity to reduce O&M cost for the owner and operators of a NuScale SMR is based on its inherently safe design, passive features, fail-safe protection systems, lack of manual operator actions in the first 72 hours following a DBE, and high degree of automation. The O&M staffing levels will be significantly less than the current operating nuclear plants in the United States based on the topics such as the revised Emergency Planning Zones, physical security initiatives, and changes being pursued regarding on-site licensed operator staffing requirements, operator training programs, and implementation of a NuScale Fleet Support Services group. In 2016 NuScale laid the foundation for establishing the technical justification for operating 12 nuclear power plants from a single control room with a staff of only six licensed operators by completing a Staffing Plan Validation where crews demonstrated success in completing very challenging scenarios in a control room simulator. In 2018 NuScale completed the Integrated System Validation (ISV), a comprehensive performance-based testing of the hardware, software, and personnel elements that are a NuScale plant control room. The ISV confirmed the control room staffing and concept of operations. This was completed as part of the Design Certification Application which is an industry first.