The Key Attributes, Functional Requirements, and Design Features of Resilient Nuclear Power Plants (rNPPs)

This paper builds on previous work that characterized the nature of the nuclear power plant (NPP)–electric Grid system, the concept of Grid resilience, and the potential of current U.S. NPPs to enhance the U.S. Grid, integrated Critical Infrastructure, and societal resilience. The concept of a resilient nuclear power plant (rNPP) is defined. Two rNPP Key Attributes and Six rNPP Functional Requirements are presented. A preliminary discussion of some rNPP design features that could enable an NPP to achieve the Six rNPP Functional Requirements is presented, along with a preliminary discussion of some rNPP regulatory, siting, and economic considerations. Taken as a package, the Six rNPP Functional Requirements define an NPP performance envelope that extends the societal value proposition of nuclear energy well beyond that of traditional baseload electricity generation. The paper lays the foundation for exploration of high-value rNPP applications and for future rNPP conceptual design studies.