ThorEA - Towards an Alternative Nuclear Future.pdf

Chapter 2: Thorium-fuelled ADSR technology in a UK context
2.1 ADSR technology and UK carbon
emission commitments
The Government introduced legally-binding targets for
CO2 emissions reductions in the 2008 Climate Change Act.
The long-term target is an 80% cut from 1990 levels; an
intermediate target of 34% by 2020 has also been set (HM-
Government, 2009), with the EU also setting a 2020 target for
the UK to generate 15% of its energy for heat, electricity and
transport from renewables. (European Commission, 2008).
It is widely believed that CO2 reduction targets will be very
difficult to meet (Cambridge-Econometrics, 2009) without
significant investment in new nuclear plants.
The combination of binding targets, limited alternatives
and a political desire to show leadership (European Union,
2008) should mean that nuclear power generation features
prominently in the energy plans of future UK Governments
and EU administrations.
The carbon reduction potential of nuclear power is enormous.
All power generation technologies face construction emissions,
but once nuclear generators are operational the direct carbon
emissions are effectively zero. As nuclear is ‘base load’ power it is
an obvious replacement for carbon-intensive coal and gas which
have fluctuated in price considerably in recent years.
Nuclear power also has the potential to de-carbonise heating
and transport. To achieve this, low carbon power is required
on a very large scale. Nuclear power is the only indigenous
low-carbon power source available to the UK which has the
potential to scale up sufficiently to meet the legally binding
emissions reductions targets that have been set.
Price per tonne of CO2 £12 £/tonne CO2-equivalent
Yearly energy produced 7.45 TWh/yr/GWe@85%avail
Steam cycle efficiency 33%
Energy from combustion 81.2 HexaJ/yr/GWe@85%avail
CO2 emissions from coal 1030 kg CO2/MWhe
CO2 emissions from nuclear 10 kg CO2/MWhe
Emission saved per reactor unit 7.6E+06 tonnes of CO2/yr/GWe
Financial value of emissions reduced £76,000,000 £/yr/GWe
18 Towards an Alternative Nuclear Future
There are also wider opportunities for global carbon
reduction. A key feature of the proposed thorium-fuelled
power station design is its suitability for export. There is
growing international interest in nuclear power with growth
projected to be between 27% and 100% over current capacity
by 2030 (IAEA, Intern ational Status and Prospects of Nuclear
Power, 2009). Potential international customers might also
envisage thorium-fuelled ADSR applications beyond just
electricity generation, for example in seawater desalination,
high temperature chemical processing and industrial or
district heat.
2.2 Financial Value of Carbon Emission Reduction
If nuclear power is finally considered as the leading CO2
emissions reduction technology (of which ADSR technology
could be a significant component) there is a substantial
source of revenues available from trading credits in carbon
markets, such as the European Trading Scheme. A first
estimate of these profits yields that by migrating from coalfuelled
plants to ADSRs yearly returns could reach £76 million
per year per GWe, as presented in the Table below. Even if only
a fraction of these benefits were granted, it would further
enhance the economic appeal of ADSRs.
All three main UK political parties recognise the need to decarbonise
energy sources; only the Liberal Democrats oppose
nuclear power. It is pertinent to ask whether thorium-fuelled
ADSRs, with their low waste, sub-criticality and proliferation
resistance could redress the balance in favour of a nuclear low
carbon option amongst the traditional anti-nuclear lobby.