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Approximately 19% of the electricity produced in the United States comes from nuclear power plants. Traditionally, nuclear power plants, as well as larger coal-fired plants, operate in a baseload manner at or near steady-state for prolonged periods of time. Smaller, more maneuverable plants, such as gas-fired plants, are dispatched to match electricity supply and demand above the capacity of the baseload plants.However, air quality concerns and CO 2 emission standards has made the burning of fossil fuels less desirable, despite the current low cost of natural gas. Wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation are attractive options due to their lack of carbon footprint and falling capital costs. Yet, these renewable energy sources suffer from inherent intermittency. This inherent intermittency can strain electric grids, forcing carbon-based and nuclear sources of energy to operate in a load follow mode. For nuclear reactors, load follow operation can be undesirable due to the associated thermal and mechanical stresses placed on the fuel and other reactor components. Various methods of Thermal Energy Storage (TES) can be coupled to nuclear (or renewable) power sources to help absorb grid variability caused by daily load demand changes and renewable intermittency. Our previous research has shown that coupling a sensible heat TES system to a Small Modular Reactor (SMR) allows the reactor to run at effectively nominal full power during periods of variable electric demand by bypassing steam to the TES system during periods of excess capacity. In this paper we demonstrate that this stored thermal energy can be recovered, allowing the TES system to act as a peaking unit during periods of high electric demand, or used to produce steam for ancillary applications such as desalination. For both applications the reactor is capable of operating continuously at approximately 100% power.

In support of more efficient utilization of clean energy generation sources, including renewable and nuclear options, hybrid energy systems (HES) can be designed and operated as flexible energy resources (FER) to meet both electrical and thermal energy needs in the electric grid and industrial sectors. These conceptual systems could effectively and economically be utilized, for example, to manage the increasing levels of dynamic variability and uncertainty introduced by variable energy resources (VER) such as renewable sources (e.g., wind, solar), distributed energy resources, demand response schemes, and modern energy demands (e.g., electric vehicles) with their ever changing usage patterns. HES typically integrate multiple energy inputs (e.g., nuclear and renewable generation) and multiple energy outputs (e.g., electricity, gasoline, fresh water) using complementary energy conversion processes. This paper reports a dynamic analysis of two realistic HES including a nuclear reactor as the main baseload heat generator and to assess the local (e.g., HES owners) and system (e.g., the electric grid) benefits attainable by their application in scenarios with multiple commodity production and high renewable penetration. It is performed for regional cases-not generic examples-based on available resources, existing infrastructure, and markets within the selected regions. This study also briefly addresses the computational capabilities developed to conduct such analyses.

The safe, reliable, and economic operation of the nation's nuclear power reactor fleet has always been a top priority for the nuclear industry. Continual improvement of technology, including advanced materials and nuclear fuels, remains central to the industry's success. Enhancing the accident tolerance of light water reactors (LWRs) became a topic of serious discussion following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, resulting tsunami, and subsequent damage to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant complex. The overall goal for the development of accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) for LWRs is to identify alternative fuel system technologies to further enhance the safety, competitiveness, and economics of commercial nuclear power. Designed for use in the current fleet of commercial LWRs or in reactor concepts with design certifications (GEN-IIIϩ), fuels with enhanced accident tolerance would endure loss of active cooling in the reactor core for a considerably longer period of time than the current fuel system while maintaining or improving performance during normal operations. The complex multiphysics behavior of LWR nuclear fuel in the integrated reactor system makes defining specific material or design improvements difficult; as such, establishing desirable performance attributes is critical in guiding the design and development of fuels and cladding with enhanced accident tolerance. Research and development of ATF in the United States is conducted under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Fuel Cycle Research and Development Advanced Fuels Campaign. The DOE is sponsoring multiple teams to develop ATF concepts within multiple national laboratories, universities, and the nuclear industry. Concepts under investigation offer both evolutionary and revolutionary changes to the current nuclear fuel system. This paper summarizes the technical evaluation methodology proposed in the United States to aid in the optimization and prioritization of candidate ATF designs.

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