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Valuing modular nuclear power plants in finite time decision horizon

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  • Jain, Shashi
  • Roelofs, Ferry
  • Oosterlee, Cornelis W.

Abstract

Small and medium sized reactors, SMRs, (according to IAEA, ‘small’ refers to reactors with power less than 300MWe, and ‘medium’ with power less than 700MWe) are considered as an attractive option for investment in nuclear power plants. SMRs may benefit from flexibility of investment, reduced upfront expenditure, enhanced safety, and easy integration with small sized grids. Large reactors on the other hand have been an attractive option due to the economy of scale. In this paper we focus on the economic impact of flexibility due to modular construction of SMRs. We demonstrate, using real option analysis, the value of sequential modular SMRs. Numerical results under different considerations of decision time, uncertainty in electricity prices, and constraints on the construction of units, are reported for a single large unit and for modular SMRs.

Suggested Citation

  • Jain, Shashi & Roelofs, Ferry & Oosterlee, Cornelis W., 2013. "Valuing modular nuclear power plants in finite time decision horizon," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 625-636.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:36:y:2013:i:c:p:625-636
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2012.11.012
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    Cited by:

    1. Barbara Glensk & Reinhard Madlener, 2019. "Energiewende @ Risk: On the Continuation of Renewable Power Generation at the End of Public Policy Support," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-25, September.
    2. Glensk, Barbara & Madlener, Reinhard, 2019. "The value of enhanced flexibility of gas-fired power plants: A real options analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C), pages 1-1.
    3. Cardin, Michel-Alexandre & Zhang, Sizhe & Nuttall, William J., 2017. "Strategic real option and flexibility analysis for nuclear power plants considering uncertainty in electricity demand and public acceptance," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 226-237.
    4. Jain, Shashi & Roelofs, Ferry & Oosterlee, Cornelis W., 2014. "Decision-support tool for assessing future nuclear reactor generation portfolios," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 99-112.
    5. Dong, Zhe & Liu, Miao & Zhang, Zuoyi & Dong, Yujie & Huang, Xiaojin, 2019. "Automatic generation control for the flexible operation of multimodular high temperature gas-cooled reactor plants," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 11-31.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Real option; Stochastic grid method; Modularity; Nuclear power plants; Finite time decision horizon;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • Q40 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - General
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions

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