Kessides, Ioannis N.2014-09-022014-09-022012-06https://hdl.handle.net/10986/19935Skeptics point out, with some justification, that the nuclear industry's prospects were dimmed by escalating costs long before Fukushima. If history is any guide, one direct consequence of the calamity in Japan will be more stringent safety requirements and regulatory delays that will inevitably increase the costs of nuclear power and further undermine its economic viability. For nuclear power to play a major role in meeting the future global energy needs and mitigating the threat of climate change, the hazards of another Fukushima and the construction delays and costs escalation that have plagued the industry will have to be substantially reduced. One promising direction for nuclear development might be to downsize reactors from the gigawatt scale to less-complex smaller units that are more affordable. Small modular reactors (SMRs) are scalable nuclear power plant designs that promise to reduce investment risks through incremental capacity expansion; become more standardized and reduce costs through accelerated learning effects; and address concerns about catastrophic events, since they contain substantially smaller radioactive inventory. Given their lower capital requirements and small size, which makes them suitable for small electric grids, SMRs can more effectively address the energy needs of small developing countries.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOABSORPTIONACCIDENTSAIRAIR FLOWALTERNATIVE ENERGYAPPROACHATMOSPHEREATMOSPHERIC PRESSUREAVAILABILITYBORONCADMIUMCAPACITY FACTORSCARBON CAPTURECARBON DIOXIDECARBON ECONOMYCARBON ENERGYCARBON ENERGY TECHNOLOGIESCARBON TECHNOLOGIESCARBONACEOUS MATERIALCATASTROPHIC EVENTSCHEMICAL PROCESSESCLIMATECLIMATE CHANGECOCO2COALCOAL PLANTCODCOLD WATERCONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIESCONSTRUCTION COSTCONSTRUCTION MATERIALSCONVECTIONCOOLINGCOOLING TOWERSCOOLING WATERCORROSIONCOST PER KILOWATTDESALINATIONDISASTERSDISTRICT HEATINGDIVERGENCEELECTRIC GRIDSELECTRIC OUTPUTELECTRIC POWERELECTRICAL ENERGYELECTRICAL POWERELECTRICITYELECTRICITY DEMANDELECTRICITY GENERATIONELECTRICITY SUPPLYELECTRICITY SYSTEMENERGY MIXENERGY NEEDSENERGY POLICYENERGY SECURITYENERGY SOURCESENERGY SYSTEMSENERGY TECHNOLOGYENERGY USEENGINEERINGENGINEERING DESIGNENGINEERSENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTENVIRONMENTAL POLICYEXPLOSIVEFEEDWATERFLEXIBILITYFLUIDSFOOD PRODUCTIONFOSSILFOSSIL FUELFOSSIL FUEL PRICESFUEL COSTSFUEL CYCLEFUEL INVENTORYFUELSGAS TURBINEGASESGENERATIONGENERATION CAPACITYGLOBAL ELECTRICITY GENERATIONGLOBAL ENERGY MIXGRAPHITEGREEN ENERGYGREENHOUSEGREENHOUSE GASGREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONSHAZARDSHEALTH RISKSHEAT CAPACITYHEAT EXCHANGERHEAT EXCHANGERSHEAT TRANSFERHELIUMHIGH LEVELSHYDROGENHYDROGEN PRODUCTIONHYDROPOWERINCOMEINSURANCEIRRADIATIONKINETIC ENERGYLEAKAGELITHIUMLOW-CARBONMASSNATURAL ECOSYSTEMSNATURAL GASNEW PLANTNUCLEAR CAPACITYNUCLEAR ENERGYNUCLEAR FACILITIESNUCLEAR FISSIONNUCLEAR FUELNUCLEAR FUEL CYCLENUCLEAR FUELSNUCLEAR INDUSTRYNUCLEAR MATERIALNUCLEAR PLANTNUCLEAR PLANT CONSTRUCTIONNUCLEAR PLANTSNUCLEAR POWERNUCLEAR POWER INDUSTRYNUCLEAR POWER PLANTNUCLEAR POWER PLANTSNUCLEAR POWER STATIONNUCLEAR REACTORNUCLEAR REACTORSNUCLEAR TECHNOLOGYNUCLEAR WASTENUCLEAR WASTE DISPOSALOUTLET TEMPERATURESPARTICLESPELLETSPETROCHEMICAL INDUSTRYPETROLEUMPETROLEUM REFININGPHOTOVOLTAICSPIPESPLANT DESIGNPLANT DESIGNSPOROSITYPOWER COMPANYPOWER DEMANDPOWER GRIDPOWER PLANTSPOWER STATIONSPRESSURE VESSELPRESSURE VESSELSPROCESS HEATPROJECT MANAGEMENTPUBLIC HEALTHPUMPSQUALITY ASSURANCEQUALITY CONTROLQUANTITY OF HEATRADIATIONRADIOACTIVE MATERIALSRADIOACTIVE WASTERADIOACTIVITYRADIONUCLIDESRADIUMRAW MATERIALSREACTOR VESSELRELIABILITY ENGINEERINGRENEWABLE ENERGYRENEWABLE ENERGY FACILITIESRENEWABLE TECHNOLOGIESSAFETYSAFETY EQUIPMENTSAFETY MEASURESSAFETY OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANTSSAFETY REGULATIONSSAFETY STANDARDSSALTY WATERSILICONSILICON CARBIDE COATINGSILVERSODIUMSOLAR POWERSTEAM CYCLESTEAM GENERATORSSTRUCTURESSUSTAINABLE ENERGYTEMPERATURETHERMAL EFFICIENCYTHERMAL ENERGYTHERMAL OUTPUTTHERMAL POWERTHERMAL STRESSESTRANSMISSION FACILITIESTRANSMISSION GRIDTURBINETURBINESTURBULENCEURANIUMURANIUM FUELUTILITIESWINDWIND POWERWIND RESOURCEWIND RESOURCESWORLD ENERGY10.1596/1813-9450-6112