Small nuclear plant developer said Thursday that the company and the South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. had completed a joint study to examine the possible deployment of an Xe-100 pebble-bed nuclear reactor integrated with an existing non-nuclear power plant.
The study concluded that an approximately 50MWe pebble-bed reactor of the Xe-100 design was, indeed, a viable option for sites of approximately 10 acres, which “easily allows siting on existing facilities.” The unit could be used as part of an upgrade expansion for a coal-fired plant or as that plant's replacement, the companies said.
The study findings include variable output to load follow to as low as 25 percent power, said X-Energy. In addition, the study validated the company's key selling points that the Xe-100 design is cheaper and quicker to build than large-scale plants, that it is safe in close proximity to population centers and that it produces zero emissions of regulated greenhouse gases, which would help states comply with the federal government's Clean Power Plan.
Last week, X-energy hosted a group of international nuclear fuel experts in Annapolis, MD to develop a fuel validation path for X-energy's Xe-100 high temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactor (HTGR). The Xe-100 uses tristructural isotropic (TRISO) fuel particles – small kernels of uranium surrounded by multiple layers of protective carbon and ceramic – that are formed into spherical graphite elements, called pebbles.
The Department of Energy's Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) program has extensively tested and verified the remarkable radionuclide retention capabilities of TRISO fuel. X-energy plans to follow up on the benefits from this investment, it said, by developing a strategy to license fuel for the Xe-100.
The Xe-100 design could benefit “any utility's long-range plans," said Steve Byrne, president of Generation for SCE&G. “Combined with the high technological readiness of pebble-bed designs, the Xe-100 can make a significant and lasting contribution to a clean energy future in the United States,” he said.