Steady-State Modeling of Small Modular Reactors for Multi-Timescale Power System Operations With Temporally Coupled Sub-Models

Small modular reactors (SMRs) offer a promising avenue for revolutionizing the traditional role of nuclear plants, transforming them from serving as baseload to flexible contributors in both power generation and ancillary services. This paper develops a steady-state model for SMRs, with a focus on incorporating constraints related to ‘xenon poisoning’. ‘Xenon poisoning’ constraints are integrated into a multi-timescale power system operation framework, which also encompasses inter-temporal coupling constraints. A comprehensive investigation is undertaken to evaluate the impact of integrating SMRs into the NREL-118 bus network. A capacity expansion planning analysis is conducted to identify the optimal locations and sizes for deploying SMRs. To obtain operational details, a production cost model based multi-timescale simulation framework is employed to determine the optimal commitment and dispatch decisions. Additionally, we've developed various reserve rules that adapt to the ramping status of the SMRs. The integration of these physical constraints into the nuclear plant model for multi-timescale steady-state simulation has been achieved while minimizing modeling complexities and computational burdens. Results illustrate that the implementation of minimal ‘xenon poisoning’ hold-time, coupled with a steady-state guided reserve provision rule, yields the highest revenue – approximately 4.14% more than the base case.