In a recent collaboration, NPRE principal research scientist Timothy Grunloh and associate professor Caleb Brooks worked with Xendee microgrid analysis experts to investigate the realities of using advanced nuclear power plants to power university campus energy systems. UIUC’s own energy portfolio was used as an example. This work is a leading contribution at the intersection of two emerging fields: next generation nuclear and microgrids.
Nuclear power reactors currently operating in the US are based on large light water reactor technologies. These systems have been optimized to provide baseload power to millions of homes with high reliability. Advanced reactors, in particular the class of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), are proposing to rethink this paradigm and provide a wider range of generation levels for advanced reactors. Not only do SMRs promise simplified construction, but their smaller size opens up new energy markets.
At the same time, the energy grid is similarly undergoing a period of intense innovation. Increasingly systems are being designed such that interconnected loads and power generation systems are tightly integrated and operated essentially as a single entity. These microgrids enable their users to manage their own energy systems, providing significant advantages in operational flexibility, reliability, security, and even economics.
The NPRE-Xendee collaboration lies at the cutting edge of the convergence of these technology trends. The university energy system provides a rich database from which real data can be used for modeling and analysis. NPRE, Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), and Utilities & Energy Services (UES) Distribution together are an exceptional resource for conducting this multidisciplinary study. Their collaboration is a reason that UIUC was selected by the DOE Office of Electricity Microgrid Program for this study.
On the leading edge of societal change, many universities have made ambitious pledges to reduce emissions of atmospheric carbon dioxide. However, fully decarbonizing these systems is indeed a serious challenge. With current technology, the options are expansive deployment of renewable sources like solar and wind or nuclear, neither of which emit carbon dioxide. The key benefits that nuclear offers are dispatchability – it can be controlled directly – and the production of heat which can be used for district heating. Leveraging these benefits paves the way for a straightforward energy transition without massive disruption.
The study established the feasibility of deploying advanced nuclear reactors on the campus to meet diverse energy needs including both electricity and steam in a combined heat and power configuration. The integration of wind and solar and co-deployed energy storage.
This study modeled and analyzed the entire UIUC campus microgrid. The campus demand for power includes aggregated loads from hundreds of buildings and diverse power generation including coal, natural gas, fuel oil, solar, and wind. All facilities on the campus were modeled: hundreds of facilities, laboratories, dormitories, computing center, and other infrastructure. Power for the UIUC campus is centered around the Abbott power plant, a combined heat and power (CHP) facility which provides both electricity and steam. Abbott has served peak loads of 77 MW electricity and 550,000 lb/hr of steam and is capable of providing 85 MW of electricity and1,235,000 lb/hr of steam. The energy system also includes a chilled water system, multiple solar farms, and purchases from the Rail Splitter Wind Farm. Remaining electricity demand is met through engagement with the regional grid.
This study produced and demonstrated first-of-its-kind ability to model wide ranging scenarios of advanced nuclear reactor deployment on campuses and other microgrids. A scenario with the inclusion of an SMR showed a reduction in CO2 emissions of 63.5% and making the entire UIUC Campus a net zero microgrid.
This study demonstrated capabilities for modeling entire campuses as microgrids and changing the sources of power to transition from fossil fuels to renewables and advanced nuclear. These capabilities are a resource available for use by industry, academia, and government.
About Xendee Corporation
Xendee is an award-winning software platform built to integrate the feasibility analysis and proposal building, portfolio assessment, detailed engineering, and operation of Distributed Energy Resources. It offers the only Microgrid design and Artificial Intelligence-based Microgrid operation optimization software that includes advanced nuclear. Xendee’s techno-economic generative algorithms can produce technical and economic solutions that meet organizational goals for technology selection, return on investment and resiliency and carbon reduction.