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Division Spotlight
Materials Science & Technology
The objectives of MSTD are: promote the advancement of materials science in Nuclear Science Technology; support the multidisciplines which constitute it; encourage research by providing a forum for the presentation, exchange, and documentation of relevant information; promote the interaction and communication among its members; and recognize and reward its members for significant contributions to the field of materials science in nuclear technology.
Meeting Spotlight
2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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May 2024
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Nuclear Science and Engineering
June 2024
Nuclear Technology
Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
U.S. nuclear capacity factors: Ideal for data centers?
Baseload nuclear generation doesn’t get the respect it deserves, if you ask nuclear operators. But the hyperscale data centers that process our digital lives—like the one right next to the Susquehanna plant in northeastern Pennsylvania—are pushing electricity demand up. Clean, reliable capacity now looks a lot more valuable.
C. Colterjohn, S. Nagasaki, Y. Fujii
Nuclear Technology | Volume 210 | Number 1 | January 2024 | Pages 23-45
Research Article | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2023.2217390
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper performs a detailed analysis of the optimized Ontario power mix under impending load and emissions constraints with the consideration of small modular reactor (SMR) deployment. The target of minimizing the total cost of the 2055 power mix while retaining real-world energy requirements was achieved using a semidynamic, recursive linear optimization model with hourly time resolution for the accurate consideration of wind and photovoltaic variable renewable energy. Utilizing IBM’s ILOG CPLEX Optimization Studio’s Flow Control method, dynamic factors such as forecasted demand growth, increasing capacity installations, learning curve applications, and reactor refurbishment and decommissioning schedules were applied to the modeling scenarios. Optimized scenarios have demonstrated that SMR-based capacity should play a vital role in the provincial energy mix in order to minimize cost while meeting emissions reduction goals and responding to increasing demand. Simulations show ideal cost reductions when approximately one-third of generated energy is produced by SMRs in the future energy mix and that the absence of SMRs may lead to up to 29% higher spending. Additional cases have considered the benefits of early SMR investment and direct SMR-CANDU cost comparisons.