Norsk Kjernekraft and Austrheim Municipality to consider reactors at oil refinery site
Norwegian nuclear project developer Norsk Kjernekraft and Austrheim Municipality have established a new company to look at the potential deployment of a nuclear power plant consisting of several small modular reactors (SMRs).
The planned plant would be built “in the immediate vicinity” of an oil refinery operated by Equinor at Mongstad, in Austrheim municipality about 60 km south of Bergen in the southwest of the country.
Norsk Kjernekraft said the refinery is Norway’s largest point source of CO2 emissions.
The nuclear facility would be able to deliver up to 1,280 MW of power and produce about twice as much electricity as Norway’s largest hydroelectric power plant, Norsk Kjernekraft said.
It said the Austrheim plans are based on good results from a comprehensive feasibility study conducted in collaboration with “nuclear power expertise from the US and South Korea”.
The study shows very good conditions for nuclear power in the area, Norsk Kjernekraft said. It considered technologies including US-based X-energy’s Xe-100 MR.
X-energy recently closed a funding round, raising a total of $700m (€677m). The round was anchored by retail giant Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund.
Norsk Kjernekraft also announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding with French company Hexana, which is developing its RNR Sodium, an SMR using Generation IV sodium-cooled fast neutron reactor technology.
The two companies aim to explore joint opportunities for the deployment of advanced nuclear power technology in Norway.
Earlier this week the Norwegian Nuclear Commission said it had chosen US-based Amentum and engineering consulting company Multiconsult Norge to study technology options for a potential nuclear power programme – the latest step in a process that could see the country deploy commercial nuclear plants for the first time.
Background: Oslo’s Change Of Tack On Nuclear
Plans for nuclear power represent a change of tack for Oslo, which ditched the idea of nuclear as a power source in the 1970s, but it is now revisiting the proposals.
The country’s energy minister Terje Aasland said last year that the issue of nuclear power is back on the agenda due to the need for stable and emission-free energy that can help meet growing electricity demand and plans of private companies to set up nuclear power production in collaboration with some Norwegian municipalities.
Norway has never had commercial nuclear power plants, but has operated two research reactors for the production of medical radioisotopes and research purposes.
The two research reactors are the nuclear fuel and materials testing reactor at Halden and the Jeep II neutron scattering facility at Kjeller. They were permanently shut down in June 2018 and April 2019 respectively.
The country has a disposal facility for low- and medium-level radioactive waste from radioactive sources used in industry and medicine as well as that generated by the research reactors. Norway also plans new medical irradiation facilities at hospitals in Oslo and Bergen.
Currently, hydropower accounts for about 88% of Norway’s power production capacity, with wind farms making up another 11%.
