The independent LUEC estimates performed in the report were used to analyse the competitiveness of SMRs in the electricity and combined electricity/heat markets of some countries. In this analysis the LUEC estimates for the various SMR plant configurations were compared to the projected costs of generating electricity or the electricity tariffs. The analysis has been performed
separately for the generation of electricity and co-generation of electricity and heat in areas with large interconnected electricity grids (“on-grid” locations), and also for the isolated or remote locations with small, local electricity grids or with no grids at all (“off-grid” locations).

For the “on-grid” locations the countries addressed included Brazil, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and the United States for electricity, and China, the Russian Federation, and the United States for combined electricity and heat generation. The basis for comparison was provided by the recent OECD-IEA/NEA publication, Projected Costs for Generating Electricity, 2010 Edition, which contains reference projections on LUEC for NPPs with large reactors, coal-fired plants, gas-fired plants, and the renewable plants (including hydroelectric plants, wind plants, etc).

Regarding the “off-grid” locations, the countries addressed included Canada, the Russian Federation and the United States. In the evaluations, LUEC estimates for the NPPs with SMRs derived in the report were compared to the electricity tariffs in selected locations.