Jamaica: energy future (Part 2)

Zia Mian, Gleaner Writer

The national vision statement in the Vision 2030 Jamaica, National Development Plan (the Vision 2030) is to make "Jamaica the place of choice to live, work, raise families, and do business". One required 'Outcome' (#10) to achieve the goal that 'Jamaica's Economy is Prosperous' (Goal #3) will be to: "create a modern, efficient, diversified and environmentally sustainable energy sector providing affordable and accessible energy supplies with long-term energy security that contributes to international competitiveness throughout all the productive sectors of the Jamaican economy." In reviewing the long-term energy-supply mix diversification, the Vision 2030 foresees that Jamaica's energy options may also include nuclear energy.

Jamaica's National Energy Policy 2009-2030 (the Energy Policy) that supports 'Outcome #10: Energy Security and Efficiency' of the Vision 2030; articulates 10 strategies. These, among others, include:

"An energy sector that possesses the flexibility and creativity to adopt and adapt to new and appropriate energy technologies (such as fuel cells, small nuclear plants) that may emerge over the long term."

Goals established

To achieve its objectives, the Energy Policy has established seven goals which, among others, include:

"Jamaica's energy supply is secure and sufficient to support long-term economic and social development and environmental sustainability

"Under this goal, Jamaica will reduce the percentage of petroleum in the country's energy-supply mix from the current 95 per cent. Diversification priorities for the short, medium, and long term will be based on cost, efficiency, environmental considerations and appropriate technologies. This will protect the country from disruptions in oil supply and price volatility. Components in the more diversified energy-source mix will include both indigenous and foreign options such as natural gas, coal, petcoke, nuclear sources as well as renewable energy sources ... .

"Develop the institutional capacity and regulatory framework to explore the establishment of small nuclear-power generation plants in the event that nuclear-power generation proves feasible for Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS)."

The Energy Policy outlines options that Jamaica must consider in order to identify least economic cost long-term strategies. Recent breakthroughs in the cost and size of small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) have made it feasible that small and standalone electricity supply systems can now deploy cheaper and sustainable nuclear technology. The inclusion of SMRs into the energy-supply mix, therefore, emerges as one key candidate for long-term energy diversification strategy.

In November 2010, the Organisation of Caribbean Utility Regulators (OOCUR) held its annual conference in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Recognising the importance of SMRs for SIDS, OOCUR invited the chairperson of the American Nuclear Society's (ANS) President's Special Committee on SMR licensing issues, Mr Philip Moor. Mr Moor's credentials, among others, include testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on the small modular reactors. The following sums up Mr Moor's presentation on SMRs:

"Recent trends in nuclear power plant design have led to the development of designs of a wide variety of safety and engineering features for small-modular nuclear reactors. These reactors are sized from less than 1MW-300MW electric, with features compatible with cogeneration for hydrogen, oxygen, water and heat production. The key features of these reactors are safety and simplicity of operation. This simplicity results from passive safety systems and simple controls, both of which minimise the need for complex actions by operators."

New breed of passive

Mr Moor informed the conference that SMR's have been in service since the 1950s in naval vessels, as research reactors and for electricity production. The SMR's potential for changing social and energy supply paradigms is compelling. The new breed of passive, below-the-ground SMRs have evolutionary designs that offer: high level of safety; long fuel cycles that ensure fuel price stability and certainty; national energy security; enhanced climate change benefits; and job-creation opportunities. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in its 2009 assessment, estimates that between 49 and 97 new small reactors will be built by 2030 and about 56 large and small reactors are already under construction.

At present, there are more than 50 small reactors under development in some 13 countries. In the United States, about 23 different designs are at different stages. The SMR technologies include:

Integral pressurised water reactors (iPWR). These reactors are thermal fission type and combine primary and secondary system into single assembly.

Liquid metal reactors (LMR) which use liquid metal as the coolant in the primary system such as sodium-fast reactors (SFR) and lead-bismuth eutectic (LEB) fast reactors.

Next-generation nuclear Plants (NGNP) that would provide the blueprint for the commercial industry to manage the heat from the next generation of advanced nuclear plants for energy production and industrial processing. These reactors may be high-temperature gas-cooled (HTGC) or SFR type.

Other types such as terra-power travelling wave reactor (TWR). These reactors can convert fertile material into fissile fuel as they use the process of nuclear transmutation. TWRs can achieve high-fuel utilisation while using non-enriched uranium and require no reprocessing. Instead, they burn fuel made from depleted uranium.

Toshiba, the Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry and Westinghouse are jointly developing a new class of micro-size fast-neutron reactors, providing 10 MWe (scalable to about 50 MWe). Toshiba 4S - Mini SFR known as 'super-safe-small and simple (4S)', uses liquid sodium as moderator. Toshiba is working with Galena (Alaska) as a potential commercial operating licence (COL) partner.

The 4S is a torpedo-shaped unit that surrounds a core about 2m long and 0.6m across. The entire unit core and casing is to be manufactured off-site, delivered to the customer, and then lowered into a cylindrical concrete vault 30m underground. It is designed to run for 30 years with minimal operator intervention, and provide 10 megawatts of electric power. When the nuclear fuel is exhausted after three decades, Toshiba will extract the 4S and take it away, presumably leaving behind a replacement unit.

SMRs operating costs (O&M+fuel) are estimated at around US 2¢/kWh and the capacity factor is more than 90 per cent. Estimated total project costs (TPC) is expected to vary between US$3,000/kW and US$6,000/kW (about US 11¢/kWh and US 15¢/kWh). The electricity production from SMRs would qualify for carbon credits, varying between US 2¢/kWh and 5¢/kWh (assuming the carbon tax/trading at US$16 to US$36 per tonne).

The SMRs have opened up real options for the SIDS to generate cheaper electric power over the medium to longer term and should be considered Jamaica's long-term energy security. However, before proceeding with the selection of nuclear technology, there is a long list of issues from IAEA that must be addressed. It is likely that Jamaica can commission its first nuclear plant in the 2020s. The recommendations from the minister's Task Force on Nuclear Energy (which was chaired by Professor Lalor) should be considered by the Cabinet to include nuclear energy into Jamaica's long-term energy-supply mix.

Many of the SMRs design goals coincide with the objectives of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) programme (123 Agreement) which was launched by the Bush administration. The Obama administration is supporting the manufacturers for export markets in order to create domestic jobs. Jamaica will need to sign the 123 Agreement, which would clear the way for establishing an appropriate regulatory framework and open up discussions with the manufacturers.

Zia Mian, a retired senior World Bank official, is director general of the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR). Views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not directly or indirectly reflect those of the Government of Jamaica or the OUR.