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YSU speaker: Small nuke plants may be in Ohio’s future
youngstown
The next generation of nuclear-power plants will be smaller and safer, and Ohio companies may be asked to provide many of the components for them.
Small modular nuclear reactors, known as SMRs, were the focus of a round- table discussion Tuesday at the Sustainable Energy Forum at Youngstown State University.
Construction and use of small nuclear plants are an area where the United States has the ability to “lead the world,” said David Crawford, senior fellow with the U.S. Nuclear Infrastructure Council, a think tank that promotes American nuclear-energy plants.
Most nuclear plants such as Perry Nuclear Generating Station and Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station, both in Ohio, generate 1,000 or more megawatts of power. One megawatt can power 1,000 homes for a year.
The SMRs produce anywhere from 100 megawatts to 250 megawatts of energy, according to forum participants.
Youngstown has the ability to help support the supply chain for expanded nuclear energy, Crawford said. The city has a sizable manufacturing base where many of the components for nuclear power plants could be made.
“SMRs will have a positive impact on job creation [and] economic growth and help meet clean-energy goals,” Crawford said.
One of the advantages Ohio has is the number of companies that can produce the supplies needed for nuclear energy, said Nancy Horton of Energy Industries of Ohio, which is a nonprofit group focused on energy issues.
Horton said her group has identified companies throughout the state with the ability to supply materials for SMRs.
Much of the nuclear technology is underground on these smaller plants to improve safety, said Darren Gale, vice president of nuclear fuels for Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Energy. The underground elements are safer from seismic events, plants crashing into the site and other potential disasters.
Most of the cost for a nuclear facility is for construction. The smaller size of SMRs helps utility companies afford to build them, said Mary Albin, program manager at Westinghouse.
“We haven’t committed anything to SMRs, but we’re watching the technology closely,” Shaw said.