Economic Prospects of Flexible Nuclear Energy Operation Under Different Market Conditions

The urgent need for low-carbon energy has led to the rise of wind, solar, and hydropower. However, the irregularities of weather-dependent renewables, coupled with rising energy demand, call for including firm, dispatchable low-carbon sources. Nuclear energy, including advanced (Gen. IV) reactors, offers significant potential to complement renewables, ensuring a stable and adaptable energy system. In this paper, several advanced reactor concepts are analyzed in a Pyomo-based optimization model environment. We evaluate their flexibility and compare their potential utilization factors, including value factor (VF), capacity factor (CF), and levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) under different market conditions at three price volatility levels. Our findings highlight how performance characteristics like output power, ramp rate, and thermal energy storage (TES) impact their efficacy. Generally, both the VF and LCOE increase while CF decreases at higher market volatility, indicating fewer operating hours to capitalize on high demand and peak prices. The VF-adjusted LCOE (VFALCOE) metric illustrates this effect. For Moltex Energy's 900-MW TES concept, CF dropped from 100 % to 83.6 %, and LCOE rose from $85/MWh to $91/MWh from low to high volatility. Nevertheless, the VF increase from 106 % to 151 %, resulting in a VFALCOE of $61/MWh for high volatility, highlighting the benefits of strategic electricity production.