Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for using PWR3 nuclear reactors, mounted on floating barges, as a potential power source for electricity generation in the United Kingdom.

There are a number of factors that are considered to make marine nuclear propulsion reactors unattractive for landside electricity generation, when compared to a conventional reactor that has been designed specifically for this purpose. All of these are likely to add to the levelised cost of electricity generation from a propulsion reactor used for electricity generation purposes for the national grid, compared to a dedicated land-based reactor. These include the following:

1) Propulsion reactors are designed for more rapid power cycling than is currently demanded from landside reactors.

2) The power density of a propulsion reactor is much higher than one would need for a landside power reactor.

3) The serviceable lifetime for a propulsion reactor is shorter than for a power reactor.

4) Propulsion reactors are smaller than most reactor designs, varying between a few tens of MW to about 150 MW, resulting in relatively little capacity per unit.

5) Propulsion reactors’ design would result in the regulatory compliance costs of their landside use for electricity generation being greater than those for a dedicated landside reactor.

The first two issues add to capital costs of design and construction, the second two to operational costs and the final to regulatory costs.