Have you ever seen something that just amazed you? We were wowed by a
recent YouTube video showing what the Chinese have achieved in turning
conventional high-rise construction on its head. A 57 story building was
built in 19 days – yes – 19 days! Who would ever believe this could be
possible? I live in Toronto, a city that has been undergoing a huge
hi-rise building boom over the last few years and the time it takes to
build these tall towers can be measured in months and years, not days.
This just shows what can be achieved when the imagination is let loose
and innovation results in outcomes never before thought possible.
We first wrote about the importance of innovation in the nuclear sector
last year. In its history nuclear power has shown incredible
innovation, leading the way in a range of technologies especially with
respect to delivering a level of safety and security not seen in any
other industry. More recently there have been dramatic improvements in
operations as the global fleet has reached a level of performance never
even dreamed of in the early days of the industry. Current new build
projects are using the most up to date methodology in modularization and
other advanced construction techniques.
And yet when the IEA issued the 2015 version of its Energy Technology Perspectives (ETP 2105)
report focusing on the need for energy technology innovation if the
world is to address climate change; it doesn’t mention this innovation,
nor does it include discussion of potential future innovation with
respect to the nuclear option.
As stated, “Energy technology
innovation is central to meeting climate mitigation goals while also
supporting economic and energy security objectives. Ultimately,
deploying proven, cost-effective technologies is what will make the
energy system transformation possible. Continued dependence on fossil
fuels and recent trends such as unexpected energy market fluctuations
reinforce the role of governments, individually and collectively, to
stimulate targeted action to ensure that resources are optimally aligned
to accelerate progress. Establishing policy and market frameworks that
support innovation and build investor confidence over the long term is a
first-order task to deliver.”
The report is clear when it says that “Innovation support is crucial across the low-carbon technology spectrum”.
The discussion focuses on renewable technologies in the short term due
their relative readiness and lack of a need for long term investment in
development; and carbon capture (CCS) in the medium to longer term even
though it requires substantive investment in development as it remains
essential to address the large number of fossil plants being built and
still in operation by 2050 that will require decarbonizing.
As
usual, the same issues that have plagued nuclear for the last 30 years;
primarily public acceptance issues, mute a positive discussion for the
nuclear option. While recognizing its importance in achieving increased
energy security, diversity of fuel supply and lower emissions, the
report goes on to state “this awareness has yet to be translated
into policy support for long-term operation of the existing fleet and
construction of new plants” … “to recognize the vital contribution that
nuclear energy can make.”
Yet the actual IEA scenarios have
changed little from last year. As shown below, when considering
technologies individually (rather than grouping into “renewables”),
nuclear actually plays the largest role of any single technology in
meeting carbon reduction targets showing that, even as it is stands
today, the nuclear option is absolutely essential to moving to the IEA 2
Degree Scenario (2DS).
This
can only be the case if nuclear is currently meeting its responsibility
to be economic and reliable while being an essential large scale low
carbon option. Given that we know the largest challenges in building new
nuclear plants is related to their relatively high capital costs and
long project schedules relative to other options; consider the role
nuclear can play if improvements similar to those demonstrated in the
Chinese YouTube video were implemented. Not marginal improvements, but
mind blowing changes in approach that shake current thoughts about the
costs and schedules of nuclear projects to their very core. This is the
way forward. While discussion of next generation plants and SMRs is of
interest, we need continued innovation that takes what we know now and
improves it beyond what anyone can imagine.
The report shows that
government investment in nuclear R&D has been dropping and in
renewables has been increasing. This investment must be refocused on
project improvement and innovation rather than the traditional areas of
research such as safety and waste management where it has been spent for
decades. These continue to be important issues that require investment
but too much of this spending is focused on these issues just to pander
to the ongoing public beliefs that safety and waste issues remain
unresolved. Rather, emphasis should be on continuing to improve new
build project performance. Let’s think about new build nuclear in the
same way we think about renewable technologies; that more investment and
research will lead to shorter construction schedules and lower costs.
It is time to let the innovation genie out of the bottle, stop being on
the defensive and move forward with great things. With changes like
this, the nuclear share will grow well beyond current expectations
bringing a real solution to climate change while keeping electricity
bills low and system reliability high.
So remember, nuclear power
is essential in achieving increased energy security, diversity of fuel
supply and lower emissions; and is already expected to have the largest
impact on meeting climate goals of any other single technology. Today’s
plants are economically competitive and provide safe and reliable
electricity. Talking about investing in energy innovation without a
discussion of investing in nuclear, when it’s currently the best option
available, is absurd. Governments need to recognize the incredible
innovation already achieved by the nuclear option, and unleash even
greater potential by investing in this well proven technology.
http://theenergycollective.com/mzconsulting/2233031/it-s-time-put-nuclear-option-offensive-and-make-it-low-carbon-energy-generation