Seems there's no mention of Russia in the article, but they seem to have a rich tradition of small reactors[0].
My understanding is there's still ongoing research/commercialization work but the fabled "many and cheap" production state hasn't been reached there either
The list of installed VVER-440 reactors (slightly larger then the official definition of SMR - rated electrical power of less than 300 megawatts (MWe)) is long:
WWER-440 V-230 reactor
B179 - Units 3 and 4 of the Novovoronezh NPP (Russia)
B230 - 1, 2 units of the Kola NPP (Russia)
1, 2, 3, 4 units of the Kozloduy NPP (Bulgaria)
Units 1, 2, 3, 4 of the Greifswald NPP (Germany)
1, 2 units of Bohunice NPP (Slovakia)
WWER-440 V-213 reactor plant
3, 4 blocks of the Kola NPP (Russia)
Units 1, 2, 3, 4 of the Paks Nuclear Power Plant (Hungary)
Units 1, 2, 3, 4 of the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant (Czech Republic)
Units 1 and 2 of the Loviisa NPP (Finland);
3, 4 units of the Bohunice NPP (Slovakia)
1, 2 units of Rivne NPP (Ukraine)
Units 5, 6, 7, 8 of the Greifswald Nuclear Power Plant (Germany)
WWER-440 V-270 reactor plant
B-270 — 1, 2 blocks of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant ( Armenia )
There were even discussion about modifications of AP-600 reactor to 300 MWe, so it could be offered in SMR projects. There are customer who want only SMR or only allow SMR to be build.
For example, Illinois had 36-year-old moratorium on nuclear construction. In 2023 lawmakers approved the House Bill 2473, this lifted the moratorium on nuclear construction, but only for SMR, not for larger reactors.
Comments
Seems there's no mention of Russia in the article, but they seem to have a rich tradition of small reactors[0].
My understanding is there's still ongoing research/commercialization work but the fabled "many and cheap" production state hasn't been reached there either
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Russian_small_nuclear_...
The list of installed VVER-440 reactors (slightly larger then the official definition of SMR - rated electrical power of less than 300 megawatts (MWe)) is long:
WWER-440 V-230 reactor
WWER-440 V-213 reactor plant WWER-440 V-270 reactor plant https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%92%D0%AD%D0%A0-440So "small" here means a 150 meter long building.
SMR - rated electrical power of less than 300 megawatts (MWe), says nothing about physical dimensions of the plant.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_modular_reactor
There were even discussion about modifications of AP-600 reactor to 300 MWe, so it could be offered in SMR projects. There are customer who want only SMR or only allow SMR to be build.
For example, Illinois had 36-year-old moratorium on nuclear construction. In 2023 lawmakers approved the House Bill 2473, this lifted the moratorium on nuclear construction, but only for SMR, not for larger reactors.
https://will.illinois.edu/studentnewsroom/story/lifted-morat...
I think that the definition of SMR is incorrect. One should not limit electric output, the important metric is total cost of the project.