Techno-economic analysis of the 100 MW Potchefstroom experimental pebble bed reactor plant / by Yvotte Brits

• Main Author: Brits, Yvotte
• Language: en
• Published: North-West University 2010
• Subjects: Electricity; PEPER power plant; Reliable; Affordable; Production
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10394/3832

Electricity is directly linked to the economy of a country: when electricity is limited and the price for electricity is very high, the high electricity price will have a negative influence on the economy of the country. Owing to the increasing power shortage in the world, and South Africa in particular, today, the need for reliable and economical electricity has risen drastically. The 100 MWth (40 MWe) PEPER power plant is a possible alternative that will help fight the lack of reliable, clean and affordable electricity in the world today. Owing to the small consumption area of the PEPER power plant, each city, mine and industry, for example, can have its own PEPER power plant in order to ensure reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity. This dissertation presents a case study and the relevant economic model for the PEPER power plant in order to determine whether the PEPER power plant may be considered as a possible electricity source. The production costs of the PEPER are presented in US$/kWh and compared with the industrial and household electricity costs (in US$/kWh) of various countries. This is done in order to determine whether it will be economically feasible to construct a First-of-a-kind (FOAK) or Nth-of-a-kind (NOAK) PEPER power plant in the industrial and household sectors of a selected country. In the economic model of the PEPER plant, the fixed capital investment costs for a FOAK PEPER plant were estimated to be US$367,199,411 and the fixed capital investment costs for a NOAK (eighth) PEPER plant were estimated to be US$238,429,665. The working capital for the first two years of the PEPER plant’s lifetime was estimated to be US$17,228,740. The production cost of the PEPER plant was estimated to be 0.038 US$/kWh. The sensitivity analysis conducted demonstrated that FOAK PEPER plants could be established in countries in which the electricity income is 0.145 US$/kWh or more. NOAK PEPER plants (all the PEPER plants constructed after the eighth PEPER Techno-economic analysis of the 100 MWth PEPER plant Confidential 3 plant is erected) could be established in countries with an electricity income of 0.10 US$/kWh or more. The PEPER plant presented here could be used: 1. as a training tool; 2. to test fuels and materials; 3. to accumulate high temperature nuclear data; and 4. as an electricity source for the industrial and household sectors of selected countries. === Thesis (M.Ing. (Nuclear Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010