The Netherlands can have a new nuclear power plant ready in about seven years. That is considerably faster than the ten to fifteen years that environmental groups and consultants usually quote as a term.
A ‘minimum throughput time’ of approximately seven years for permits and construction is ‘realistic’, according to a new study by research agency NRG/Pallas for the Ministry of Economic Affairs (EZK).
GroenLinks previously mentioned ten years as development time, Milieudefensie ‘minimum fifteen years’ and business consultant KPMG recently stated ‘eleven to fifteen years’. NRG/Pallas investigated series of different types of nuclear power plants. Smaller, water-cooled power stations are best suited to a densely built-up country like the Netherlands. The construction time is also relatively short. The agency is positive about these small modular reactors (SMRs) that can be linked together.
The type of light water SMR, where the coolant is plain water and which is made by companies such as Nuscale, Rolls-Royce SMR, BWRX-300 and Nuward, takes seven years from drawing board to completion of construction. The technology of these power stations is known in the Netherlands. But energy experts who are in favor also remain sceptical. “It is possible, but everything has to go well,” says an expert. “There is now political pressure to be able to make speed.”
The Ministry of Economic Affairs commissioned the study because the Netherlands is looking for an alternative to fossil fuels. In 2050, our country must have reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 95% compared to 1990.
Cleaner
The cabinet and a parliamentary majority refer to nuclear energy, which does not emit any greenhouse gases, as a clean alternative to allow the Dutch economy to transition from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas to CO2-free energy.
Unlike cleaner energy from the sun and wind, nuclear energy offers stable, continuous CO2-free electricity. Minister Jetten (Climate and Energy) previously pledged support for research for the construction of two new large nuclear reactors, planned in Borssele in Zeeland.
Due to series of congestion on the power grid, the provinces of Limburg and North Brabant have expressed their preference for an SMR reactor that can provide stable power for companies nearby, for example. Some other provinces are still considering nuclear energy as an alternative. There is a lot of supply of the SMRs. The International Atomic Energy Agency pegged eighty types. Some smaller reactors are already in operation in China.
Permits take time
Construction cannot be much shorter than seven years, concludes NRG/Pallas. According to the researchers, most of the time for construction is taken up by the permit application and the issue.
It is now up to politicians in The Hague to act first, says David Smeulders, professor of energy systems at Eindhoven University of Technology. According to the Nuclear Energy Act, the current Borssele power station must close in 2033. “That closing date must be removed from the law. That takes time: the government plan has to go through the Council of State, the House of Representatives and the Senate. And then you have to immediately include the possibilities of expansion in the new law,” he says.
Smaller nuclear power plants, outside Borssele, with a capacity of 100 to 400 megawatts right next to six large industrial clusters such as Rotterdam and Chemelot in Limburg, Smeulders calls ‘practical’. “In that case, the industry can directly purchase electricity there. Otherwise you would have to pull cables or reinforce existing ones throughout the Netherlands, for a network that is already overloaded. With small nuclear power plants you no longer have that problem.”
According to Professor Smeulders, it is crucial for the success of new nuclear power plants that the population will support it. “Companies too, by the way. Certainly when it comes to placing smaller nuclear power plants at companies, there will be questions about risks, the waste. But it can. There is population support at the existing power plant in Borssele. They know the risks there for many years, but also the benefits of clean green electricity and employment. A majority is there for expansion.” Economic Affairs held an information evening in Borssele last week.
Off the shelf
Smeulders: “All arrows now point in the right direction. Borssele already has drawings ready, from a distant past, when there might be seven nuclear power plants. But all those plans were shelved by the Chernobyl disaster.”
At Borssele, in addition to the existing power station of 485 megawatts, two larger ones, of soon 1200 to 1500 megawatts, should be built. “They are available, you can buy them off the shelf, and there is already experience with that,” says Smeulders. “They can be realized within about eight years.”
But the smaller, SMR power stations are still limited in the market. “There are two working in China. You should first find out whether they meet Dutch requirements,” says Smeulders. “You have to be realistic, those types are different and therefore not ready within ten years.” That’s not too bad, he says. “The biggest challenge to reduce CO2 will come after 2030 if the industry were to switch to sustainable energy.” Nuclear energy can play an important role there.
‘Prepare well’
Smeulders is not a proposal to hurry. “The entire construction of nuclear power plants, but also the environment and the personnel must be well prepared. That just takes time. You want to avoid growing another Groningen: that people like there in recent years feel passed over while the proceeds go to others.”
The Netherlands had knowledge of nuclear power plants. But due to disasters in Chernobyl and Fukushima, building plans stalled and knowledge disappeared, including at universities. Smeulders: “Nuclear energy in the Netherlands comes from a greater disadvantage, and we have to rebuild that at all levels. We are a rich country in talent and capabilities, we can achieve that.”