Design Study of Small Gas Cooled Fast Nuclear Power Plant for Synergetic Energy System with Renewable Energy by Employing Pump Storage

Abstract

Design study of a synergetic system among small long life gas cooled fast reactors and renewable energy has been performed. A pump storage system is the center in the integration among considered energy sources. Using this system many renewable energy sources and the small nuclear power plant can be integrated to produce reliable energy sources which can be used for electricity production, desalination, etc. In this system each energy source can store energy by contributing pumping water from a low level reservoir to a high level reservoir. The nuclear power plant module must satisfy inherent safety requirement, and have flexibility in producing electricity, clean water (through desalination), etc. The reactor can be operated for 25 years without the necessity to refuel during that period. To achieve inherent safety capability it is important to minimized excess reactivity during burn-up to be below delayed neutron fraction value so that super prompt critical accident such as in Chernobyl accident case can be avoided. Here minimization of excess reactivity is carried out by adjusting core and blanket region width and plutonium enrichment in core regions.