Load Following Flexibility of Small Modular Reactors Coupled with Wind Farms in the Presence of Extreme Wind Conditions

Load following small modular reactors (SMRs) promise to be a viable option moving forward with clean energy initiatives. Paired with renewables like wind, they can make up for the significant variation in power output seen in renewables and provide vital reliability. Assuming SMRs can meet the provisions set forth in revision 13 of the Electric Power Research Institute's Utility Requirements Document (EPRI-URD), the aim of this research is to determine whether SMRs linked with wind farms will be able to react quickly enough to meet load requirements. In this case study, seven volatile wind speed datasets were gathered from The National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado. The data were run through simulations representing both Induction Generator (IG) and Doubly-Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) wind farms to estimate power output. Each wind power dataset was then subtracted from each of four load power datasets from a local North Carolina utility to determine the necessary nuclear contribution from a group of SMRs. Each of the 56 individual case studies (28 IG and 28 DFIG) were compared with the EPRI-URD requirements, and it was determined that DFIG farms paired better with the SMRs, and in the most extreme cases, the nuclear plants were able to keep up with a wind farm of maximum size 7.5 MW (IG) and 9 MW (DFIG) based on a 1.5 MW step size.