Why coal-fired power plants should get nuclear-ready

Abstract

Nuclear power plant designs are becoming smaller so that the capacity of these small modular reactors (SMRs) is similar to that of coal-fired power units. The need to decarbonize the energy sector will leave infrastructure and workers of retired coal-fired power plants behind. From an environmental point of view coal-fired power plants should neither be built nor operated. If these plants are built/operated though, they should be designed in a way that they can be swiftly transformed to provide low-carbon energy. They should be designed to be nuclear-ready. The idea to transform coal-to-nuclear (C2N) is receiving increased attention. In this Perspective, we argue that akin to an earlier EU directive on carbon capture and storage (CCS) that made CCS readiness assessments necessary to obtain a building permit in the EU, C2N assessments could be provided by utilities of new and operating coal-fired power plants on a voluntary basis today, to maximize the utilization of existing infrastructure for clean energy production tomorrow.