7 Aug (NucNet): Small modular reactors should be offered the same subsidies as those provided to offshore wind, an independent finance working group appointed by the government has concluded, according to the Financial Times.
The subsidies, which should include a contract-for-difference to guarantee a minimum price for electricity, would help to commercialise the nascent SMR industry in the UK, the Expert Finance Working Group on Small Reactors was reported to have said.
The group added that the government should select projects on the basis of commercial readiness and not select a preferred project. The Financial Times said this could be considered a blow to Rolls Royce, which recently warned it will shut down its SMR project if the government does not make a long-term commitment to its technology.
The group was set up in February 2018 to advise on how SMR projects could raise investment in the UK.
In June the government said the group’s analysis suggested that the UK is well placed to develop first-of-a-kind SMR projects and that the characteristics of SMRs could attract private investment.
According to the UK’s Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, initial cost modelling suggests that SMRs will not be significantly cheaper, in terms of capital cost per megawatt output, than the current generation of gigawatt-scale reactors.
A 2014 SMR feasibility study led by the National Nuclear Laboratory gave a best estimate of over £80/MWh – not far from the strike price agreed for Hinkley Point C.
However, Rolls-Royce said it was targeting a price of £60/MWh for its SMR design.
The UK government expressed support for domestic SMR development in the 2016 Budget and launched a competition to identify the best-value design for the UK. The competition considered SMR designs which generate up to 300MW and which are able to achieve in-factory production of modular components or systems amounting to a minimum of 40% of the total plant cost.
That competition was closed in December 2017, with the publication of a series of techno-economic assessments of SMRs.
The government has since launched a programme to support and develop feasibility projects for SMRs. Funding announced in June included up to £44m for research and development to support the development of advanced SMRs.
