4 ms·
SMRs likewise require generators and cooling plant, 2 or 3 times as much cooling as electricity produced, perhaps even more if its to be done most economically.
by strainer 7y ago
SMRs likewise require generators and cooling plant, 2 or 3 times as much cooling as electricity produced, perhaps even more if its to be done most economically. So if CHP is justification for such release of heat into cool environments - they should be categorized as mainly a source of heating, not high value electrical energy. An ability to make continuous heat on this planet is not a futuristic energy supply in its own right, it falls well short of the "game changer" goal.
- petre 7y agoThermal nuclear reactors have their MWt rating 3x of their MWe. All of them produce heat. Generators? Cooling Plant? I don't know about others, but NuScale Power's SMR has natural circulation an passive cooling. https://www.nuscalepower.com/about-us/faq https://www.nuscalepower.com/about-us/faq
- strainer 7y agoThat's internal passive cooling which they mention briefly in their faq (transferal of heat from their reactor to their output loop). These units take in water and output steam, and they need attached to thermo-electric plant to produce electricity. They are water boilers.