PB-FHR Nuclear Air-Brayton Combined Cycle Natural Gas Price Sensitivity

摘要

The Pebble-Bed Fluoride-Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactor (PB-FHR) is intended to enable a new market strategy and unique value proposition for nuclear power plants (NPP). Early estimates indicate that a PB-FHR is potentially competitive in the base-load electricity markets traditionally served by NPPs, but substantial increases in plant revenue are possible through coupling to a Nuclear Air-Brayton Combined Cycle (NACC) power conversion system (PCS). NACC enables production of base-load nuclear electricity and peak power with added natural gas. Because the temperature increase in the power cycle provided by the natural gas is on top of that provided by nuclear heat, the natural gas to electricity efficiencies are greater than stand-alone natural gas plants. That efficiency gain translates into substantially greater plant revenues (after subtracting the price of natural gas) relative to base-load nuclear plants.