Techno-economic assessment of thorium power in Canada

Abstract

Thorium fission is a large yet relatively unexplored renewable energy source and could help feed increasing energy demands. An analysis was performed on the feasibility of replacing the uranium in Canada’s nuclear reactors with thorium. Thorium only exists as a fertile isotope, and so an external fissile source such as 235U, 233U, or 239Pu is required to stimulate the fission process. A uranium plant and a similar thorium-fuelled plant were compared over a 40year operational life based on a comprehensive economic analysis. The results from the economic analysis were used to estimate the greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement cost compared to the coal and natural gas-based power. The economic analysis determined that a thorium plant is more financially lucrative in Canada than a uranium plant. An abatement cost assessment in relation to gas-fired and coal-fired power plants demonstrated that nuclear power offers a cost savings per tonne of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gas (GHG) when compared to both fossil fuel alternatives. From the values determined for a plant potentially fuelled on thorium, the abatement cost when compared to the coal-fired and gas-fired plants is −$10.4/tonne-CO2eq and −$15.7/tonne-CO2eq, respectively.