Response of Pressurized Water Reactors to Network Power Generation Demands

There is a widely held notion in the electric power generation community that nuclear power plants are, in some way, not well suited for a dynamic role in meeting the varying generation needs of the distribution network. The source of this misconception is not clear. Perhaps it stems from the historic role nuclear power has played in the United States, or from a perceived deficiency in nuclear technology or lack of margins to core safety limits. The purpose of this paper is to dispel such notions by presenting on-line plant data to demonstrate the load following flexibility of a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR). As background, the factors that affect transient flexibility and the system design features engineered into the PWR to insure continued availability of these capabilities are also discussed.