Base-Load Light-Water Reactors with Variable Electricity Using Crushed-Rock Heat Storage and Steam Peaking Plant with High-Efficiency Steam Injectors

摘要

Energy markets worldwide are changing because of (1) addition of non-dispatchable wind and solar that creates highly volatile electricity prices and (2) the goal of a low-carbon energy system. Nuclear reactors produce heat and there is the potential for the cost of heat storage to be a factor of ten to a hundred less than the cost of storing electricity. This creates the option to operate nuclear reactors at base-load, store heat at times of low prices and sell peak electricity and industrial heat at times of higher prices. To maximize nuclear plant revenue, the goals are (1) very low-cost heat storage measured in gigawatt-days of capacity to enable hourly to weekly heat storage and (2) a low-cost hot-oil-to-steam-to-electricity peaking plant to meet peak electricity demand. The size of the heat storage system and the steam-electric peaking plant are separately determined by the local market.