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Released January 25, 2023 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. Nuclear Power Renaissance, Part 2, took a big step forward last week after federal nuclear regulators issued their final approval of the design for a small modular reactor (SMR) developed by NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE:SMR) (Portland, Oregon).
One can only hope that the sequel is better than the original, in which at least 15 next-generation "passive" reactor projects, valued at more than $252 billion, were cancelled or placed on hold over the last decade or so. Only one of those projects, the two units nearing completion at the Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Power Station in Waynesboro, Georgia, persevered, though at a high cost and through lengthy delays.
But there was fresh optimism in the Power Industry following the January 19 decision by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (Rockville, Maryland) to provide final certification of NuScale's 50-megawatt (MW) reactor design, completing a process started about two decades ago at Oregon State University (Corvallis, Oregon). The rule, published in the Federal Register, takes effect February 21, 2023.
"We are thrilled to announce the historic rulemaking from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for NuScale's small modular reactor design, and we thank the Department of Energy (DOE) for their support throughout this process," said John Hopkins, NuScale's chief executive officer, in a statement. "The DOE has been an invaluable partner with a shared common goal--to establish an innovative and reliable carbon-free source of energy here in the U.S. We look forward to continuing our partnership and working with the DOE to bring the UAMPS Carbon Free Power Project to completion."
Added Dr. Kathryn Huff, the DOE assistant secretary for nuclear energy: "SMRs are no longer an abstract concept. They are real and they are ready for deployment, thanks to the hard work of NuScale, the university community, our national labs, industry partners, and the NRC. This is innovation at its finest and we are just getting started here in the U.S.!"
The DOE said it has invested more than $600 million since 2014 to support the design, licensing and siting of NuScale's power plant and other SMRs. NuScale and other companies that succeed in building next-generation reactors could apply for federal production tax credits contained in last year's Inflation Reduction Act.
But in an all-too-familiar step, NuScale said this month the target price for power from the plant being developed by Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) (Salt Lake City, Utah) is expected to be $89 per megawatt hour, up 53% from the previous estimate of $58 per MWh.
In 2020, UAMPS secured a $1.4 billion, 10-year cost-saving award from the DOE to build 12 SMRs at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) (Idaho Falls, Idaho). For more on that, see November 2, 2020, article - Small Nuclear Reactors Get Billion-Dollar Boost from U.S. DOE. Aspirations for that $3 billion UAMPS project, called the Carbon-Free Power Project, recently were halved to six SMRs, but each unit was upsized to 77 MW, making the total project about 462 MW. The units are expected to be operational by 2030.
A number of utility integrated resource plans (IRPs), which are long-term resource roadmaps, vaguely refer to possibly using SMRs and other types of advanced no-carbon generating technology to keep the lights on in the 2030s, once the technologies are proven safe and cost-competitive. For more on that, see December 5, 2022, article - DTE Electric Wants to Exit Coal Sooner Than Planned, Grow Clean Energy Faster.
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) (Knoxville, Tennessee) has expressed interest in building one or more SMRs on its campus in Clinch River, Tennessee. Last year, the TVA Board of Directors approved plans to invest up to $200 million over the next two to three years to explore next-generation nuclear technology, as part of its strategic goal to decarbonize its electricity supply. For more on that, see February 18, 2022, article - TVA Will Assess Next-Generation Small Nuclear at its Clinch River Site.
An NRC spokesperson explained that the agency's final determination that the SMR design is acceptable for use also carries insulation from legal challenges whenever an organization applies to the NRC to build and operate an SMR nuclear power plant.
"I think it's great that another non-emitting electric generating option has passed an important milestone," said Britt Burt, IIR's vice president of research for the global Power Industry. "We need all the options we can get if we're going to decarbonize our electricity supply. But after the debacle that the 'nuclear renaissance' became, it will take some years before the industry is ready to jump on board."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
One can only hope that the sequel is better than the original, in which at least 15 next-generation "passive" reactor projects, valued at more than $252 billion, were cancelled or placed on hold over the last decade or so. Only one of those projects, the two units nearing completion at the Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Power Station in Waynesboro, Georgia, persevered, though at a high cost and through lengthy delays.
But there was fresh optimism in the Power Industry following the January 19 decision by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) (Rockville, Maryland) to provide final certification of NuScale's 50-megawatt (MW) reactor design, completing a process started about two decades ago at Oregon State University (Corvallis, Oregon). The rule, published in the Federal Register, takes effect February 21, 2023.
"We are thrilled to announce the historic rulemaking from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for NuScale's small modular reactor design, and we thank the Department of Energy (DOE) for their support throughout this process," said John Hopkins, NuScale's chief executive officer, in a statement. "The DOE has been an invaluable partner with a shared common goal--to establish an innovative and reliable carbon-free source of energy here in the U.S. We look forward to continuing our partnership and working with the DOE to bring the UAMPS Carbon Free Power Project to completion."
Added Dr. Kathryn Huff, the DOE assistant secretary for nuclear energy: "SMRs are no longer an abstract concept. They are real and they are ready for deployment, thanks to the hard work of NuScale, the university community, our national labs, industry partners, and the NRC. This is innovation at its finest and we are just getting started here in the U.S.!"
The DOE said it has invested more than $600 million since 2014 to support the design, licensing and siting of NuScale's power plant and other SMRs. NuScale and other companies that succeed in building next-generation reactors could apply for federal production tax credits contained in last year's Inflation Reduction Act.
But in an all-too-familiar step, NuScale said this month the target price for power from the plant being developed by Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) (Salt Lake City, Utah) is expected to be $89 per megawatt hour, up 53% from the previous estimate of $58 per MWh.
In 2020, UAMPS secured a $1.4 billion, 10-year cost-saving award from the DOE to build 12 SMRs at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) (Idaho Falls, Idaho). For more on that, see November 2, 2020, article - Small Nuclear Reactors Get Billion-Dollar Boost from U.S. DOE. Aspirations for that $3 billion UAMPS project, called the Carbon-Free Power Project, recently were halved to six SMRs, but each unit was upsized to 77 MW, making the total project about 462 MW. The units are expected to be operational by 2030.
A number of utility integrated resource plans (IRPs), which are long-term resource roadmaps, vaguely refer to possibly using SMRs and other types of advanced no-carbon generating technology to keep the lights on in the 2030s, once the technologies are proven safe and cost-competitive. For more on that, see December 5, 2022, article - DTE Electric Wants to Exit Coal Sooner Than Planned, Grow Clean Energy Faster.
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) (Knoxville, Tennessee) has expressed interest in building one or more SMRs on its campus in Clinch River, Tennessee. Last year, the TVA Board of Directors approved plans to invest up to $200 million over the next two to three years to explore next-generation nuclear technology, as part of its strategic goal to decarbonize its electricity supply. For more on that, see February 18, 2022, article - TVA Will Assess Next-Generation Small Nuclear at its Clinch River Site.
An NRC spokesperson explained that the agency's final determination that the SMR design is acceptable for use also carries insulation from legal challenges whenever an organization applies to the NRC to build and operate an SMR nuclear power plant.
"I think it's great that another non-emitting electric generating option has passed an important milestone," said Britt Burt, IIR's vice president of research for the global Power Industry. "We need all the options we can get if we're going to decarbonize our electricity supply. But after the debacle that the 'nuclear renaissance' became, it will take some years before the industry is ready to jump on board."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
