A single Rolls - Royce 440 MW Small Modular Reactor has a design life of 60 years and a availability factor of 90%. On average, it will deliver 396,000,000 W of 24/7, low-carbon electricity daily, for 60 years.
Every hour of every day, each man, woman and child in the UK uses 594 W of electricity - not just for our direct use but 'our content' of the electricity used by industry, commerce, business, schools, hospitals and everything that provides our wonderful way of life. So:
Small Modular Reactors - once in a lifetime opportunity for the UK
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Keadby 68 MW Onshore Wind Farm
Keadby - Sustainability Impact Report
Supplying 38,000 homes is the 'starting point' that windfarm operators publicise. But wind turbine performance deteriorates by 1.6% p.a. In the last year of its 25 year lifespan, it will only be supplying 26,650 homes. On average, over 25 years, that's 29,444 homes.
Conclusion: 1.6% annual degradation.
This equates to a continual average delivery of 13,424,582 W of intermittent electricity, enough to supply electricity to 22,600 people.
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To supply 666,667 people would require 29.5 Keadby-sized wind farms - a total of 1,003 x 2 MW wind turbines at a cost of £2,915 million.
The site size for 1,003 x 2 MW wind turbines would need to be 265.5 sq km.
And that's not the end of the story:
To provide electricity for the 60 year design life of the SMR, after 25 years a 2nd batch of 1,003 x 2 MW wind turbines would have to be built and then a 3rd batch would have to deliver for 15 years [40%] of its lifespan. Only then would intermittent wind power match the 24/7 nuclear power from an SMR. That's the intermittent output from 2,407 x 2 MW wind turbines.
That's a cost of 2.4 x £2,915 million: £6,996 million.
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The most appropriate costing for a R-R SMRs is to use the 'Current Study (adjusted-mature designs)' rate of £5,000/kW
Figure 21 - Overnight Capital Cost Comparison (£/kWe) for all Nuclear sectors
Added to this must be the Hinkley Point C ratio of £7.3 billion, for decommissioning, waste handling and storage, against the £18 billion capital cost.
In total, a 440 MW SMR would cost: £3,092 million.
Onshore Wind Turbines cost 2.26X more than SMRs !
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Keadby 68 MW Onshore Wind Farm
Keadby - Sustainability Impact Report
Conclusion: 1.6% annual degradation.
This equates to a continual average delivery of 13,424,582 W of intermittent electricity, enough to supply electricity to 22,600 people.
--------------------//--------------------
To supply 666,667 people would require 29.5 Keadby-sized wind farms - a total of 1,003 x 2 MW wind turbines at a cost of £2,915 million.
And that's not the end of the story:
To provide electricity for the 60 year design life of the SMR, after 25 years a 2nd batch of 1,003 x 2 MW wind turbines would have to be built and then a 3rd batch would have to deliver for 15 years [40%] of its lifespan. Only then would intermittent wind power match the 24/7 nuclear power from an SMR. That's the intermittent output from 2,407 x 2 MW wind turbines.
That's a cost of 2.4 x £2,915 million: £6,996 million.
--------------------//--------------------
The most appropriate costing for a R-R SMRs is to use the 'Current Study (adjusted-mature designs)' rate of £5,000/kW
Figure 21 - Overnight Capital Cost Comparison (£/kWe) for all Nuclear sectors
Added to this must be the Hinkley Point C ratio of £7.3 billion, for decommissioning, waste handling and storage, against the £18 billion capital cost.
In total, a 440 MW SMR would cost: £3,092 million.
Onshore Wind Turbines cost 2.26X more than SMRs !
