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The Current Situation and Perspective of the Small Modular Reactors Market in the Asia and the Pacific Region

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Small Modular Reactors for Electricity Generation

Abstract

Without doubt, Asia and the Pacific is the region of the world with the largest nuclear power programme to be implemented in the coming decades. The countries with the largest nuclear power programme are China (36 units), the Republic of Korea (25 units), and India (22 units). China has the largest nuclear power construction programme in the world (20 units). However, according to OECD/IEA sources, nuclear power has a limited role in Southeast Asia during the coming decades. This reflects the complexities of developing a nuclear power programme in some of the countries in that region and the slow progress to date of most countries that have included a nuclear power programme in their long-term plans. Vietnam is the most active and is currently undertaking site preparation, work force training and the creation of a legal framework. Moreover, Vietnam has signed a co-operative agreement (that includes financing) with Russia to build its first nuclear power plant, with the aim of entering the energy mix of the country before 2025. Thailand includes nuclear power in its Power Development Plan from 2026, but these plans could face public opposition. It is expected that Thailand could start producing electricity from nuclear power plants before 2030.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    If the nuclear power reactors of Japan are not included, then this programme is the third after the nuclear power programme of the European region and the U.S.

  2. 2.

    This construction programme is the largest in the world.

  3. 3.

    For more information on this type of SMR, see Chap. 2.

  4. 4.

    For more information on this type of SMR, see Chap. 2.

  5. 5.

    For more information on this type of SMR, see Chap. 2.

  6. 6.

    For more information on these types of SMRs, see Chap. 2.

  7. 7.

    For more information on this type of SMR see Chap. 2.

  8. 8.

    For more information about this type of SMR see Chap. 2.

  9. 9.

    The NNSA is under particular pressure to oversee the operation of 36 nuclear power reactors  and the construction of 20 more reactors, as well as being the first regulatory authority to review six new designs. Not even the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which monitored standards during the huge build out of the industry in the 1960s and 1970s, has faced such a workload. Safety authorities are usually reluctant to appear critical of their international peers. but in 2014, a senior French safety regulator described NNSA as “overwhelmed”, and claimed that the storage of components was not at an adequate level. A senior official from SNPTC said in 2015: “Our fatal weakness is our management standards are not high enough.” To build up the capabilities to support such a large construction programme a pause in ordering new plants and equipment may be necessary (Thomas and Steve 2016).

  10. 10.

    For additional information on this type of SMR see Chap. 2. SMART will probably include Generation III + cost saving and safety features.

  11. 11.

    The AHWR is a 300 MWe vertical pressure tube reactor, cooled by light water, but moderated by heavy water. The reactor is intended to work with a thorium cycle with initial Pu seed. The detailed design work on the reactor was completed in 2014 and it is anticipated that construction of the first demonstration plant with be in 2016 with operation by 2025.

  12. 12.

    The electricity generating capacity installed in the country is around 40 GW in 2012. It is expected that the generation capacity installed should increase in the coming years to satisfy an electricity demand of 248 TWh in 2016 (Power in Indonesia 2013).

  13. 13.

    Russia is keen to export floating nuclear power plants, on a fully-serviced basis, to Indonesia as a means of providing power to its smaller inhabited islands. In August 2015, Rosatom and BATAN signed a cooperation agreement on the construction of these type of nuclear power plant. Earlier, the province of Gorontalo on Sulawesi was reported to be considering the construct a floating nuclear power plants from Russia (WNA-Indonesia 2016).

  14. 14.

    The bulk of the electricity demand in the Philippines in the coming years is expected to be supplied by hydroelectric, geothermal, and oil-fired plants. The Philippines have substantial reserves of hydro capacity, but very little of fossil fuels.

  15. 15.

    The current situation of the different energy sources that exist in Malaysia is the following:

    Oil: Depleting national oil reserves, with exploration moving to deeper seas. Malaysia expected to revert to being a net oil importer within the decade; need to reserve oil for future generations and other sectors, such as transportation, where it is difficult to replace oil as fuel; oil already decoupled from power sector and no longer viable for electricity.

    Gas: The country has a high dependence on gas for power, with cap on use of gas for power generation; deregulation of gas prices with subsidy roll-back; current gas fields depleted by around 2030 with new fields of higher CO2 content; competing demand as feedstock to petrochemical industry and as industrial fuel; committed exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from fields in Sabah and Sarawak; inadequacy of gas supply for power beyond 2018 and import of LNG from 2015.

    Coal: Supply security issues with over 97% national dependence on coal imports; supply constraints by exporters and coal price volatility, especially within the region; limited availability of high quality indigenous coal deposits, with mostly sub-bitumeneous and lignitic coal.

    Hydropower: Remaining potential in the Peninsula exhausted, except for small peaking hydro; limit to availability of Sarawak hydropower resources for supply to Peninsula; geographical hydropower supply-demand mismatch between Peninsular and Sarawak with need for subsea HVDC link over 670 km. through South China Sea.

    Renewable energy: Renewable energy sources lack economic competitiveness in near future; limited potential for renewable energy of total of only 4000 MWe by 2030; introduction of feed-in tariff (FIT) for power generation from renewable energy; more suited in reducing commercial energy demand than in substituting supply; development of solar power equipment manufacturing industries (Puad Haji Abu and Mohamad 2011).

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  1. Vienna, Austria

    Jorge Morales Pedraza

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Morales Pedraza, J. (2017). The Current Situation and Perspective of the Small Modular Reactors Market in the Asia and the Pacific Region. In: Small Modular Reactors for Electricity Generation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52216-6_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52216-6_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-52215-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-52216-6

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