Long term?18 Jan 2021 16:23
post on the internet:
In Derby in the UK, the Rolls-Royce Consortium is working on another SMR design for its planned 440MW reactor, slightly outside the range usually considered “small”, although Rolls-Royce believes it is the “sweet spot” for achieving economies of scale. The consortium plans to deploy its SMRs on former industrial sites, perhaps even on the grounds of shuttered large-scale nuclear power stations. The design is still in early phases, with Rolls-Royce saying that operation of its reactor is at least a decade away. To date, Rolls-Royce has received £18m ($24m) from the British government, and is requesting £200m ($260m) more.
Despite the financial and regulatory hurdles, both Rolls-Royce and Nuscale anticipate a large market, including selling reactors to African and South American countries, where less robust grid systems might not support the energy load of traditional large-scale reactors. Even in developed countries, SMRs might provide the ability to generate electricity in new places. Canada, for instance, recently announced a plan to explore potential SMR sites in remote locations in the far north that currently rely on diesel to generate electricity