- #1
Zackary Miller
- 13
- 1
I was reading my textbook, Power Generation, Operation, and Control, third edition, and was thinking of the possibility of supplying peak load using a nuclear fission reactor. The reasoning behind my interest is that to supply the grid with nuclear energy at anywhere near 100% from nuclear you will need to be able to supply peak energy without a huge energy storage system.
Naturally this presents a problem because reactors (due to the high thermal inertia of the core and delayed neutrons) tend to be slow to increase and decrease in power output and as such make excellent baseload, but absolutely terrible peaker plants, or at least all of the ones I have heard of. So I wonder if there are any existing fission reactors, or as Rickover might call them, paper reactors, that could serve as a peaker plant.
Naturally this presents a problem because reactors (due to the high thermal inertia of the core and delayed neutrons) tend to be slow to increase and decrease in power output and as such make excellent baseload, but absolutely terrible peaker plants, or at least all of the ones I have heard of. So I wonder if there are any existing fission reactors, or as Rickover might call them, paper reactors, that could serve as a peaker plant.