Abstract
Many countries are moving swiftly to develop and commercialise SMRs as they offer an assortment of benefits that make them attractive to utilities and investors. They have the potential to solve challenges faced by large nuclear power reactors such as cost overruns and construction delays risks, safety, and proliferation concerns. SMRs are designed to be safer than large nuclear power reactors and offer serious cost advantages over the larger nuclear power plants. SMRs are well-suited for locations with small grid and remote areas and could be affordable for many countries with limited investment capability. SMRs offer also a greater flexibility for utilities for incremental capacity growth, which could potentially increase the attractiveness of SMRs to investors. The objective of this chapter is to discuss in details the benefits offered by the SMRs. Particular attention is given to the superior safety features of SMRs.
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However, it is important to highlight that the construction of SMRs underground bring a number of difficulties that need to be evaluate before a decision is taking on this idea. In case of flooding, the whole SMR could end up underwater; in case of an accident the access to the reactor core could be complicated, the construction cost could be hired that the construction above the ground, just to mention some of these difficulties.
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Morales Pedraza, J. (2017). Benefits of Small Modular Reactors. In: Small Modular Reactors for Electricity Generation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52216-6_6
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