Journal of Critical Infrastructure Policy
tential for additional load flow perturbations and voltage collapse transients that can result from the sudden tripping offline of a generating facility during periods in which the Grid is stressed .
By Serving As Variable Capacity Black Start Units
The present strategy for protection and restoration of the Grid in catastrophic national scenarios — such as black sky events that might be caused by cyber or EMP attacks on the — is to first restore mini-Grid Islands of stable , matched load , and generation capacity . Once these Islands are stabilized with respect to voltage and frequency parameters , they are grown and merged via secure transmission lines with proximate Islands to restore Grid operability and electric service over sequentially larger geographical regions ( NERC 2012 ). Generation capability is recovered by first activating black start generating units ( typically 10s of MWe to a few hundred MWe in size ), which in turn crank larger generating plants , which in turn crank even larger generating plants in a “ daisy-chain ” restart approach . These Grid recovery Islands are today defined on the basis of BPS topologies ( and to some extent chance ), and in most cases have little to do with defined geopolitical boundaries . This BPS recovery strategy offers a practical path forward for enhancing Grid resilience with rNPPs by strategically locating rNPPs and utilizing them as anchors for Grid recovery Islands .
Small rNPPs Can Be Sited Closer to Their Customers
Nuclear power plants have traditionally been strictly viewed as Bulk Power System assets — larger power generation facilities typically located far from the electricity customers they serve . While there have been multiple reasons for this , one revolutionary aspect of small rNPPs is the potential for embedding them in the Distribution element of the Grid ( much closer to the customers they serve ) as the hub of “ mini- ” or “ micro- ” Grids . This should be possible because : ( a ) their size and technology relaxes the requirements for access to large bodies of water that traditionally service as heat sinks for the plants ; ( b ) their generating capacity more closely matches that of many of today ’ s Distribution system loads ; and ( c ) their safety characteristics are such that traditional regulatory siting restrictions ( e . g ., emergency planning zone or “ EPZ ” requirements ) can be relaxed ( NRC 2020a ).
Fuel Security — The Added Resilience Benefit of rNPPs vs . Non-nuclear rPPs
rNPPs would also provide an additional benefit compared to non-nuclear rPPs . rNPPs provide a “ fuel security ” value that is unachievable by other current energy production technologies . This fuel security value is manifested as aroundthe-clock , dispatchable , long-term energy production capability that is not depen-
48