Jamaica’s nuclear prototypes within six years amid wider two-decade time horizon

Jamaica’s adoption of nuclear power could be two decades away though working prototypes may emerge within four to six years, according to the professor leading the country’s nuclear energy planning efforts.

Professor Charles Grant, who chairs the working group developing Jamaica’s nuclear implementation road map, said the timeline follows the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) standardised approach for countries adopting nuclear power for the first time.

“What we have done to date is, using the IAEA’s milestones approach to the adoption of nuclear energy for electricity generation, we have applied standard models to generate a road map for Jamaica,” Professor Grant told the Financial Gleaner.

Grant, who heads the International Centre for the Environmental and Nuclear Sciences (ICENS) at the University of the West Indies, Mona, said the road map identifies 19 essential infrastructure points that must be achieved to establish such a project, including funding, siting, and human resource development.

In December 2023, Grant was appointed chair of the Nuclear Energy Working Committee, tasked with implementing Cabinet decisions to develop the road map. The plan, designed to unfold over about 20 years pending government approvals, was presented last year to then Minister of Science, Energy and Technology Daryl Vaz before the general election.

Grant cautioned, however, that nuclear power would not be approved without a comprehensive public education campaign on the technology and its safety. “Safety and security are of the utmost importance first, and that has to be proven to us. Right now, there are about 70 to 80 designs globally, of which maybe 10 to 15 may be suitable for Jamaica,” he said.

A typical Small Modular Reactor (SMR) under consideration would generate up to 100 megawatts (MW) – similar to local gas or diesel plants – while occupying about 0.25 km² of land, roughly the size of a plantation. Jamaica’s electricity grid capacity is around 1.0 gigawatt, with the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) supplying about 60 per cent and independent power producers the rest.

According to a 2020 IAEA report, the capital cost for an SMR ranges from US$2,000 to US$6,000 per kilowatt, translating to about US$200 million on the low end for a 100MW reactor. Costs depend on factors such as reactor design, regulation, operations, fuel supply, and waste disposal.

By contrast, a full-size reactor would generate around 1.2 gigawatts – more than 100 times the output of an SMR and exceeding Jamaica’s total demand. “Having such a great deal of energy in a relatively small volume of material has drawbacks. In the event of an accident with a loss of cooling, there is sufficient energy to melt the fuel. The advantage of the SMR is that there is not sufficient energy in the core to melt the fuel, even without cooling. This is the concept of inherent safety,” Grant explained.

In October 2024, the Jamaican Government signed a memorandum of understanding with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Limited to advance nuclear-technology adoption. Grant noted, however, that the committee is also exploring reactor options worldwide.

He said one of the next steps is public education to dispel concerns rooted in outdated technology. “I know there are anti-nuclear folks out there, and understandably so if you were talking about the old designs. But to me, looking at those old reactors is like comparing a Model T Ford to a BYD. The difference is stark,” he said.

The Working Committee is now awaiting a new mandate from the Office of the Prime Minister after the science portfolio was reassigned to Minister without Portfolio Dr Andrew Wheatley following the general election.

Back in 2024, Prime Minister Andrew Holness reaffirmed his government’s “unwavering commitment to diversify the country’s energy portfolio with new, clean, and sustainable alternatives”. He noted that France generates about 68 per cent of its electricity from nuclear power, while Canada derives about 15 per cent from the source.

luke.douglas@gleanerjm.com