The Anonymous Widower

Teesside Private SMR Nuclear Power Station To Be Built

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.

This is the sub-heading.

An agreement has been reached to build a privately financed nuclear power station in Teesside.

These are the first three paragraphs.

Community Nuclear Power (CNP) has announced plans to install four small modular reactors (SMRs) in North Tees.

CNP said it aims to be up and running in ten years’ time and will supply “roughly a gigawatt of energy”.

With other similar power stations planned, hundreds of jobs are expected to be created in the north-east of England.

A CNP spokesperson said the four North Tees reactors will generate clean, always-on energy which will be used to help develop a green energy and chemical hub, also within the North Tees Group Estate, on the north bank of the River Tees near Stockton.

These are my thoughts.

The Westinghouse AP300™ SMR

This SMR has its own web page.

This is the sub-heading.

Only SMR based on Licensed, Operating & Advanced Reactor Technology

These paragraphs introduce the reactor.

The Westinghouse AP300™ Small Modular Reactor is the most advanced, proven and readily deployable SMR solution. Westinghouse proudly brings 70+ years of experience developing and implementing new nuclear technologies that enable reliable, clean, safe and economical sources of energy for generations to come.

Our AP1000® reactor is already proving itself every day around the globe. Currently, four units utilizing AP1000 technology are operating in China, setting performance records. Six more are under construction in China and one AP1000 reactor is operating at Plant Vogtle in Georgia while a second nears completion.

Our AP300 SMR leverages that operating experience, as well as tens of millions of hours on AP1000 reactor development.

Gain the benefits of the record-setting Westinghouse AP1000 PWR technology in a smaller power output to augment the backbone of your community energy system.

The AP300 SMR complements the AP1000 reactor for a cleaner energy mix, energy security, and grid flexibility and stabilization.

Westinghouse seem to have taken a very professional and scientifically correct approach and downsized something that works well.

Where Will The Reactors Be Built?

This is a paragraph from the BBC article.

Small reactors, built in a factory by the American power giant Westinghouse, will be transported to Seal Sands near Billingham, coming on stream in the early 2030s and going some way to providing part of the big rise in nuclear capacity the UK government wants to see by 2050.

This Google Map shows the mouth of the River Tees.

Note.

1. The red arrow at the bottom of the map indicates the location of North Tees Group Estate.
2. Follow the river to the North and a capitalised label indicating the position of Seal Sands can be seen.

This second Google Map shows the Seal Sands area in a larger scale.

There seems to be several spaces, where the reactors could be located.

Would It Be Safe To Locate A Nuclear Reactor Or Reactors In a Cluster Of Oil Refineries And/Or Chemical Plants?

Consider.

• In the 1970s, when I worked at ICI, there were companies like Westinghouse advocating nuclear steelmaking.
• We did discuss the concept a couple of times over coffee but no one, I worked with, ever looked at it officially or seriously, as far as I know.
• In addition to requiring large amounts of electricity, oil refineries and chemical plants often use a lot of steam.
• Nuclear reactors generate steam to produce electricity, so some could be diverted to oil refineries or chemical plants
• To decarbonise some processes might switch to hydrogen.
• In Westinghouse And Bloom Energy To Team Up For Pink Hydrogen, I talk about how to use a nuclear reactor to efficiently produce pink hydrogen.

It looks like for efficiency, building the various plant close together could be a good thing.

But is it safe?

I suspect the level of safety will be that of the least safe plant.

So provided all plants are designed to the highest standards, it should be OK, as nuclear plants, oil refineries and chemical plant don’t regularly explode.

 

The Donald C Cook Nuclear Plant

The Donald C Cook Nuclear Plant in Michigan is a 2.2 GW nuclear plant, that was built by Westinghouse and commissioned in the mid-1970s.

They were clients for Artemis, the project management system that I wrote.

Soon after the Three Mile Island accident on March 28th, 1979, I visited the Donald C Cook Nuclear Plant to see how they were coping with the aftermath of the accident.

I remember being told by the operators of the plant, who were American Electric Power, that as it was their only nuclear plant, they were going to do everything by the book and Artemis was helping them to do that.

Reading about the plant, which is now licenced to operate until 2034 for one reactor and 2037 for the other, it seems to have performed impeccably so far for nearly fifty years.

It is a credit to both Westinghouse, who built it and American Electric Power who own it.

Now that is what I call high-class engineering and I’d be happy to have a cluster of SMRs to the same standard in my back yard.

Sizewell B

I used to live a few miles from Sizewell B, which is another Westinghouse reactor.

• This is the Wikipedia entry for the power station.
• Sizewell B was based on a proven Westinghouse design.
• It seems to have performed well since it was commissioned in 1995.

It looks like it will be operating until 2055, which will make its working life similar to those of the reactors at the Donald C Cook Nuclear Plant.

Westinghouse And Hinckley Point C Compared

Consider.

• Sizewell B was built in approximately seven years.
• This compares well with the two units at the Donald C Cook Nuclear Plant, which took six and nine years respectively
• It looks like Hinckley Point C will take between twelve and fourteen years to build.
• Sizewell B and the two units at Donald C Cook Nuclear Plant seem to be looking at a sixty year operating lifetime.
• Sizewell has a rail connection and Hinckley Point does not.
• Sizewell B seems to have been signed off, when John Major was Prime Minister.
• Hinckley Pont C seems to have resulted from a government white paper when Gordon Brown was Prime Minister.

Westinghouse seem to design nuclear power stations, that can operate for a long period and can be built within a decade.

Westinghouse And Rolls-Royce

Consider.

• Rolls-Royce also have an SMR design.
• Rolls-Royce and Westinghouse are both world-class companies.
• Rolls-Royce have the advantage they are British.
• I also suspect, that both Westinghouse and Rolls-Royce will use the same subcontractors and sub-assembly manufacturers.
• The Rolls-Royce SMR has a power output of 470 MW.
• The Westinghouse SMR has a power output of 300 MW.

I suspect the choice between the two, will be like choosing between top-of-the-range British and American products.

Conclusion

I wonder why we ended up with an unproven new French design at Hinckley Point, when sitting in Suffolk was a traditional Westinghouse design, that was performing to its design specification?

But for the SMR,  we need to buy the reactors, which are financially best for Britain. If Westinghouse choose to manufacture large sections in the UK, they could be the better bet, as I suspect, if SMRs are successful, we’ll be seeing exports from the UK.

 

 

February 12, 2024 - Posted by AnonW | Energy | Artemis, Bloom Energy, Community Nuclear Power, Donald C Cook Nuclear Plant, Hinckley Point C Nuclear Power Station, Nuclear Power, Pink Hydrogen, Project Management, Rolls-Royce SMR, Sizewell B Nuclear Power Station, Small Modular Nuclear Reactor, Teesside, Westinghouse SMR