How to Deal with the Threat of New Energy to the Safe Operation of Nuclear Fuel

In the last decade, with the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, wind generation and solar photovoltaic generation have been increasing their share of the power grid. Now, it has become normal for nuclear power plants to participate in peak load regulation of the grid. During peak load regulation at the nuclear power plant, the change of reactor power brings the temperature change of fuel cladding and pellet. The pellet-cladding interaction caused by the temperature change of fuel pellets maybe cause the damage of fuel rod cladding, which will greatly threaten the safety of nuclear fuel. In this paper, firstly, the depth of peak load regulation in the nuclear power plant is discussed. Secondly, the power increase/reduction speed in the process of peak load regulation is researched to reduce the thermal stress effect of pellets. In addition, the risk of the local power of the reactor is discussed. At last, some other peak load regulation solutions for nuclear power plants, such as nuclear energy for heat supply, steam supply, pumped storage power plant, and battery storage are being explored.