A précis of the international advance of GE Hitach’s BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR)
As of 19 March 2022
The basics are:
The first of a kind (FOAK) should be operational in 2028 on an Ontario Power Generation (OPG) site, where site preparation may have already started.
In respect of USA interest, it looks odds on that the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will be operating a BWRX-300 by 2032, or maybe earlier.
The first BWRX-300 for Poland will be operational in 2029.
Polish billionaire, Michal Solowow and Partner (another Polish billionaire) plan to deploy at least 10 BWRX-300s to power their energy-intensive industrial operations.
And just last week, Kärnfull Next AB, a Swedish ‘cleantech startup’ company announced plans to establish a number of SMRs in the region.
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The Nth of a kind (NOAK) BWRX-300 has an overnight capital cost (OCC) of US$2,250/kW, meaning an investment of $675 million would finance a 300 MW nuclear power plant (NPP).
The extraordinary cost savings that can be realised, in the widespread deployment of SMRs from 2028 onwards, is best illustrated by comparing the OCC with current deployment of 3,200 MW EPRs in the EU and UK, where:
(i) one has just begun operation in Finland: Olkiluoto 3 (OL3)
(ii) one is under construction in the UK: Hinkley Point C
(iii) one is in the final throws of receiving the UK Government’s go-ahead: Sizewell C
Whilst Hinkley Point C’s cost has risen to £23 billion, it is anticipated that Sizewell C will come in at £20 billion.
The OCC of 3,200 MW of BWRX-300 at ~£1,675/kW drops down to an astonishing £5.36 billion, which is >80% below the best anticipated cost of EPRs
