Did you know that there are “generations” of nuclear reactors? Generation IV is the next generation. They will be more economical, safe, sustainable, and nuclear proliferation resistant. We seem to hear about advances in wind and solar technologies in the media all the time (take Tesla’s solar roof tiles, for instance). But, innovation in nuclear reactors are arguably even more exciting because they can accomplish what renewables alone can’t.
In most places, energy systems pair renewable energy with fossil fuel-based energy; this combination takes care of the intermittency issue with renewables. But using dirty fossil fuels to provide for our energy needs, even when we use them in combination with renewables, is not sustainable. We need a different, less carbon-intensive energy system that supplies a constant source of energy. A recent study published in Energy Conversion and Management has shown that a hybrid nuclear-solar energy system could be a promising alternative to the existing systems.
Scientists from the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences propose a hybrid nuclear-solar system consisting of a concentrated solar power system and small, modular Generation IV nuclear reactors (SMR). Compared to traditional large-scale reactors, SMRS are less expensive and easier to operate and maintain. Furthermore, small modular reactors have been designed to have more robust safety measures and to have a longer lifespan.
Not only did the proposed system provide power even when the sun wasn’t out, the study also revealed it also required less heat to meet power demands when compared to the concentrated solar power system alone. Heat is needed in nuclear reactors to make steam that is then used to turn a turbine that’s attached to a generator. The heat comes from the nuclear reaction. Concentrated solar power works in a similar way; thermal energy from the sun powers a steam generator, which then turns a turbine that is attached to an electricity generator. So, since the hybrid system needs less heat, it is easier to power and 60 percent more efficient than concentrated solar alone.
The demonstrated success of this innovative carbon-free nuclear-solar energy system should encourage climate change activists and policy actors to embrace nuclear power as part of their action plans. The system brought to light by this recent research offers a compromise between the proponents and opponents of nuclear power. There is no need for large-scale traditional nuclear reactors in this system. Technologically advanced, small modular reactors are far less risky and threatening. Combining SMRs with concentrated solar power in particular is a smart cost-cutting option; energy storage systems for concentrated solar are 10 to 40 times less expensive than ones for photovoltaic solar panels or wind power.
The researchers’ concentrated solar and nuclear hybrid energy system is especially promising because it is only one of several combinations possible: next generation nuclear can be combined with other kinds of renewable energy, and there are multiple ways that two kinds of power can be integrated into one system. More research and modeling can be done on different kinds of hybrid nuclear-renewable energy systems to determine which ones are the most cost-effective, most energy efficient, safest, and require the least inputs to manufacture.
One good sign: around the same time that the hybrid energy study was published, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette launched a pro-nuclear energy initiative alongside eight partner countries. The launch occurred at the international Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) in Copenhagen, which included the participation of 24 countries plus the European Union.
“Nuclear-renewable systems could link emission-free nuclear power plants with variable renewables like solar or wind farms and could allow nuclear power to backstop intermittent generation,” Brouillette said at the CEM.
Despite its general reluctance to act on climate change, the Trump administration is eyeing the potential of nuclear energy. Environmentalists, instead of turning a blind eye to nuclear, should recognize that this is a rare opportunity to collaborate with the Trump administration on climate change and energy policy. The science behind unlocking the potential nuclear energy is growing. The federal government’s support for nuclear is too. Now, environmentalists similarly will need to take a supportive stance if they want to take steps to address climate change and put nuclear on the map.