Nuclear Plant Fleet Deployment – The Importance of Owner Collaboration

We often hear about the benefits of deploying fleets of standardized designs to reduce the costs and risks of nuclear power plant construction.  The concept is very clear.   We repeat.  We learn.  We continuously improve.   However, in the context of nuclear plant construction, standardization is often focused on repeating the same design (the “what”) without much consideration of how to repeat the “we” – ensuring there are enough of the same project participants so that the learning continues from project to project.       

Repeating the same design using the same people (engineers and trades) and installing the same equipment from the same suppliers is why we have seen large improvements in cost and schedule for multiple units at the same site (e.g. Barakah in UAE).  This gets diluted when building on multiple sites in the same country and in many cases, completely fails when moving the theoretically same design from one jurisdiction to another.  There are recent examples where one design has been constructed in multiple countries with each new deployment struggling to move down the cost curve as the changes related to the new location negatively impact the project.

The question is – can we truly benefit from building fleets of standardized designs around the globe?  Today, we want to discuss the benefits of encouraging collaboration among different owners to ensure that lessons learned are indeed passed on from one project to the next. 

This is especially true for SMRs where the economic model is based on the economies of numbers overcoming dis-economies of scale.  Working with the vendor, future fleet owners can plan out the progression of the build program.  Being number six in line might give an owner comfort that most issues will be resolved by the time it is their turn.  But in reality, without sufficient planning they may well find that the supplier shops are over capacity and vendor engineers are fully occupied resulting in their project experiencing higher costs and delays.

When multiple organizations across jurisdictions build the same design, collaboration enables the following. 

Incorporating Lessons Learned

Every new project offers lessons—technical, logistical, and managerial. Sharing these lessons across all owners ensures that subsequent projects avoid repeating mistakes. Formal owner alliances to share data, lessons learned, and technical solutions will ensure maximum transparency and learning.  Keep in mind that much of the project development and planning is owner responsibility.  Learning from those that go before you will always be helpful, especially for first-time owners.

Workforce Development

A skilled workforce is one of the most critical enablers of success. Repeating a design in a new jurisdiction will not necessarily result in a new group of welders achieving the same outcomes and failure rates as those who did the work on previous projects.  Allowing future fleet owners to develop their project staff by building their experience through participation in earlier projects – through shadowing, secondments, or joint standardized training programs ensures that an owner has experienced people when their project begins. 

Supply Chain Coordination

Nuclear components have long lead times and a limited number of qualified suppliers. A fleet that coordinates procurement and schedules helps suppliers invest confidently in capacity based on an understanding of the magnitude of the market for their products, reducing risk and lowering unit costs.  Without this collaboration, the supply chain can become over committed and under prepared, resulting in cost escalation, delays, and quality issues across the entire fleet.

We have seen the benefits of owner collaboration before when it comes to nuclear safety.  Organizations like the Institute of Nuclear Power Operators (INPO) and the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) have enabled the sharing of best practices resulting in improved nuclear safety across the global fleet.   The same idea can work for new nuclear construction.

New nuclear projects are large and complex undertakings.  Owners deploying the same design should see themselves as partners, not competitors, because a strong, collaborative fleet reduces cost, accelerates timelines, and strengthens the case for nuclear energy allowing it to scale at the pace required to meet the growing electricity demand of the future.