A company called Holtec International aims to use multi-stage compressors to repurpose old coal plants for SMRs, or small modular reactors.

Many power plants share a common goal: create steam to spin a turbine and generate electricity. This means that they contain similar tools; a coal power plant and nuclear power plant overlap in the facilities they utilize. Therefore, a retired coal plant could be used to reduce the massive up-front costs of a nuclear plant, as many of the factors of the previous plant could be reused.

The biggest obstacle preventing the prevalence of nuclear power is the enormous cost of building and maintaining the reactor. However, this plan can save 15-35% of construction costs. Additionally, the replacement of a coal plant to a nuclear one of the same size can support 650 jobs and sustain $275 million in economic activity.

Hundreds of US coal plants can be turned into nuclear fission plants; of hundreds of active and retired coal plants that were evaluated on several factors to test their viability to safely host a nuclear power plant, 80% were decided to be suitable.

However, the process of converting the facility is not without hardships. One hurdle that stands in the way of the repurposing of coal plants is the regulations set by the NRC, as coal plants are actually more radioactive than nuclear power plants are allowed to be. Coal plants experience radiation buildup from years of use, and as soon as one is converted to a nuclear plant, the new rules apply. This can be avoided in two ways: decontamination, a near-impossible process, or changing regulations for repurposed plants.

Overall, this concept holds incredible promise for the future of nuclear energy. Coal-burning plants that would usually be abandoned after they are closed can instead be used for the production of nuclear fission, which not only saves money, but also recycles the materials. It could be revolutionary in cutting costs, and therefore make the process of creating and sustaining nuclear plants easier than ever before.

I first heard about this when Hank Green discussed it, but didn’t think of doing any research on it. However, my friend planned to cover it in a previous Nuclear Physics meeting, but was unable to attend at the last minute, leaving the unofficial club without a topic to discuss. We had other things to cover, but I wished I’d known enough about it to replace my friend in order to teach the club about it. 

Honestly, I didn’t learn a lot from this research that I hadn’t learnt from Hank’s video, but it’s certainly very interesting and I definitely feel confident enough about the subject now to lead a discussion about it. More learning next week! Stay tuned to learn with me!

https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Holtec-claims-SMR-160-can-repurpose-any-coal-fired

https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/US-study-assesses-potential-for-coal-to-nuclear-co