Small Modular and Advanced Nuclear Reactors: A Reality Check
April 4, 2021
2020 Wall Scholar, Dr. M.V. Ramana latest published paper looks at modular and advanced nuclear reactors and examines whether these new designs can indeed solve the problems currently confronting nuclear power technology.
Nuclear power has been declining in importance over the last quarter century, with its share of global electrical energy generation decreasing from 17.5 percent in 1996 to around 10 percent in 2019. Small modular and advanced nuclear reactors have been proposed as potential ways of dealing with the problems—specifically economic competitiveness, risk of accidents, link to proliferation and production of waste—confronting nuclear power technology. This perspective article examines whether these new designs can indeed solve these problems, with a particular focus on the economic challenges.
You can read the paper in its entirety here.
For further readinf on this topic, check out the recent opinion piece “More nuclear reactors (SMRs): A bad investment for New Brunswick” co-written by Dr. Ramana, Dr. Susan O’Donnell and Dr. Gordon Edwards.
Related People