Technical Report 312, c4e-Preprint Series, Cambridge

Authors: Wanni Xie, John Atherton, Jiaru Bai, Feroz Farazi, Sebastian Mosbach, Jethro Akroyd, and Markus Kraft*

Reference: Technical Report 312, c4e-Preprint Series, Cambridge, 2023

Associated Themes:
 

• Investigated carbon tax to motivate adoption of small modular reactors (SMRs)
• Data-driven investigation of policy trade-offs for placement of SMRs
• Pareto front between objectives to minimise risk and transmission loss
• Identified regions for possible placement of SMRs

The study investigated the effect of a CO₂ tax to encourage the adoption of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) as an alternative to fossil fuels for power generation in the UK. The trade-offs of different SMR placement policy options with respect to the competing objectives of minimising transmission losses and population risk were investigated. Different assumptions about renewable power availability were explored. The study identified the most cost-effective number of SMRs per site. Regardless of renewable power availability, a carbon tax in the range £45–60/t was found to incentivise the full adoption of SMRs with a levelised cost of electricity of £60/MWh versus £0–20/t at £40/MWh. The SMR placement influenced the performance and cost of the energy system, as well as whether a region acted as a net importer or exporter of energy. The most cost-effective solutions were achieved by balancing transmission loss and population risk.

PDF (6.7 MB)