In order for these reactors to provide value to the future energy system for decarbonization and replace a larger share of dispatchable fossil-fueled generation, they must offer sufficiently attractive economic value to induce utilities to build them over alternatives. This study therefore focused on two attributes that will be key for future advanced-reactor deployment for electrical power systems: reactor power size and appropriate operational flexibility. On the basis of the findings obtained in this work, some general observations were drawn by the multi-laboratory and multidisciplinary team regarding carbon-constrained modeling of advanced nuclear energy:
- Previous carbon-constrained energy modeling studies did not include important design aspects of new nuclear reactor and power plant designs, including differing reactor sizes, types, and enhanced ability for flexible operations.
- Considering the limited data basis for future advanced nuclear energy systems, it is important to combine staff knowledgeable in both advanced nuclear energy systems and energy market analysis to effectively explore these impacts.
- The expertise gathered in this analysis can be applied to perform detailed analysis on specific industry concepts if specific costing data and flexible operation capability are made available.