NuScale secures NRC approval for second small reactor design
Nuclear developer NuScale Power on Thursday won approval from federal regulators for its second small modular reactor design.
Under pressure to act more quickly on advanced reactors, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission completed its technical review of NuScale's 77-megawatt US460 SMR in just under two years. NuScale, an Oregon-based nuclear startup, holds the only other SMR standard design approval from the NRC, granted in 2020.
'This completes the NRC's technical review ahead of schedule and under budget, demonstrating the agency's commitment to safely and efficiently enable new, advanced reactor technology,' the agency said in a statement.
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SMRs are less than one-tenth the size of conventional nuclear plants. They're built in factories and can be put together to form a six-pack of mini nuclear reactors, a process that nuclear advocates say will drive down costs and speed up delivery of new electricity supplies.
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Development booming for Rochester's neighbors
May 31—ROCHESTER — Just north of Pine Island on the east side of U.S. Highway 52 lies about 400 acres in the township that, if all goes well over the next year or two, should become the future economic engine of the city. In March, the city started the environmental process that would lead to the annexation of that property — now mostly farmland — with the purpose of having a developer — Minneapolis-based Ryan Companies — turn that land into an industrial and technology business park. It's a project that could bring hundreds of jobs — not counting the construction jobs — long-term to the city. How did this happen? As the old saying goes with real estate deals, it's all about location. And in this case, the booming growth of nearby Rochester is one major factor. "The proximity to Rochester is a major factor to us," said Peter Fitzgerald, vice president of real estate development for Ryan Companies. Fitzgerald listed off Pine Island's attributes. In addition to proximity to Rochester there's also a quality workforce, proximity to the Twin Cities, and quick access to major highways such as Interstate 90, Highway 52 and Intestate 35. For Fitzgerald, the idea of developing along Highway 52 between the Twin Cities and Rochester goes back to his days, oddly enough, playing for the Rochester Honkers more than 20 years ago. Back in those days, he often drove between Rochester and the Twin Cities, a drive he felt was closer and quicker than people realized. So when he began working for Ryan Companies, he remembered that drive. "Highway 52 connects the first, second and third largest cities in the state of Minnesota," he said. "It made a ton of sense to pay attention to what's happening along Highway 52." Ryan Companies has been in the development business for 85 years in Minnesota, and has worked on projects around the state. The company has many developed projects in the Twin Cities and along I-35, Fitzgerald said. So, in evaluating Pine Island he saw good infrastructure such as utilities, available land, a strong and skilled workforce, and that access to highways and three major cities. "We had nothing along Highway 52, which we thought was a miss," he said. On the north end of Stewartville, the Schumann Business Park is filling up quickly. Mayor Jimmie-John King said that's because the land is "shovel ready" for development. "When you're putting up a $100 million building — no matter how rich you think people are — people don't want to screw around for 18 months on that borrowed money," King said, referring to the estimated investment in construction by United Therapeutics, a pig-to-human transplant facility. "(United Therapeutics) figures, working with us, they'll be ready to roll a year earlier than they planned on." King said that's a big benefit to companies, having roads, sewer and water and other utilities ready to connect to a site. "That's a huge benefit to these companies that come here," he said. He pointed to Stewartville's other big deal announced this year: Amazon will build a "last mile" delivery hub in Stewartville. With the site ready to build on, he said, a company could go from signing a development deal to beginning construction in as little as 90 days. In fact, real discussions with Amazon began in January, and, if a recent week of rain hadn't occurred, he said, the company would "already be digging in the dirt." United Therapeutics and Amazon are just the latest additions to the business park, first developed in 2003, that already includes Kwik Trip, Schwickert's Construction and FedEx Ground among others. And Schumann's isn't the only area that was built to be builder-ready. Tebay's Industrial Park a few blocks to the south on Highway 63 includes manufacturers Jimmy's Salad Dressings, Halcon Furniture and Geotek Inc. All, King said, have recently expanded or have plans to expand their building footprints, and that means more jobs coming to Stewartville. Elizabeth Howard, Pine Island's city administrator, said while the Ryan Companies development is still in the early stages, site planning would indicate room for 100 to 200 jobs coming to the city. That doesn't include construction jobs for developing the site. Despite the positives of the proposed deal, Howard said she's holding back on any celebrations. Pine Island, she said, has heard it before. "I still hear it in every single meeting I go to," said Howard, referring to the never-realized Elk Run bioscience development proposed by Tower Investments in the late 2000s and early 2010s. "It's at the top of people's minds." Howard said Ryan Companies isn't Tower Investments — which is a good thing — but as this proposal works its way into the environmental review process, she's "being more hesitant that the city is dotting its I's and crossing T's with the developer." Still, there is optimism in town. In April, the city hosted a town hall meeting where the public could come and ask questions about the proposal. "It went well," said Howard. "It was positive. The crowd was mainly people living around the project, more township folks than city folks. The developer and engineer were able to answer their questions and concerns." One question has been why Pine Island? In addition to the reasons listed by Fitzgerald, Howard said the power substation on the north end of town was a plus since data centers or technology businesses are envisioned as potential tenants. Right now, Fitzgerald said, Ryan Companies isn't thinking about end users as much as it is thinking about the environmental review — which should take most of the rest of 2025 — and pre-construction issues such as permitting and zoning. "It's looking at the magnitude of this development and taking a look at what mitigations should be in place to allow for this development," he said. Once all the pre-construction work is done, then Ryan Companies will start lining up tenants for the site. Fitzgerald said all that will take time. Development of the 400-plus acres will likely take a decade in total as more businesses buy up lots within the tech park on what will become the north end of Pine Island. "You do need an anchor tenant," he said. "We'll look for that anchor tenant who will kick off that development." Ron Zeigler, CEO of Community and Economic Development Associates, the economic development arm behind many communities in Southeast Minnesota, said, "Rochester needs a strong surrounding area, and the area needs a strong Rochester." What's happening in Stewartville and Pine Island, he said, is happening to some degree in just about every community near Rochester. "Every town is doing things to make themselves ready for housing development, business development," he said. Howard said Ryan Companies first approached Pine Island about 18 months ago. After some initial inquiries, she heard nothing for a few months. "I was cautious," she said. After all, the city and it's economic development team talk to developers often. But eventually, things started to fall into place. Howard said she got the right people talking to one another: decision makers, state agencies and the city. With so many hoops to jump through for even the most motivated city and developer, as city administrator she didn't want to "put the cart before the horse." "Don't spend taxpayer dollars inappropriately," she said. That means don't get overextended on roads or utilities. Talk to the school district and keep them in the loop. Have a plan for housing. That last one can be worked on no matter what. Both Olmsted County and Goodhue County have done studies showing the need for more housing — apartments, single-family, affordable, senior housing — enough so that she's not worried about pushing too far on that front. The city is already working on quality of life issues such as parks. And Pine Island has joined with neighboring towns — Zumbrota, Goodhue and Wanamingo — to develop a regional wastewater treatment cooperative. Stewartville City Administrator Bill Schimmel said his city — just with it's two newest development announcements, Amazon and United Therapeutics — that the city is looking at somewhere between 100 and 130 new permanent jobs. That doesn't include existing businesses — Halcon, Jimmy's and Geotek — that have or will be adding new jobs. Mayor King said that even on manufacturing lines, those jobs take skills which means those are good-paying jobs. Schimmel said the city is always looking to extend current development opportunities, whether that be residential or commercial/industrial. Apartments have been built in recent years, and roughly three dozen single-family home lots are available. As for business opportunities, there's still room for Schumann's Business Park to expand, but the city is also talking to landowners — including one on the north side of Interstate 90 — for new areas of development. After all, Stewartville is something of a business hotspot. "What seems to have happened, once some of these names are on our map, there seems to be inquiries," Schimmel said. Added King: "I think what we're going to see, and we're already seeing some of it, is the secondary-type business: truck repair shops, the support network. We're starting to hear from some of those type of people. There's a lot of opportunities that way." Opening up a shop that has oil filters and other routine maintenance parts for all those Amazon trucks, he said, would be a smart plan. For Pine Island, the payoff is a little farther down the road, but Howard said she sees it coming. And, like Stewartville has discovered, success can breed more success. "I hope that this is just the tip of the iceberg," Howard said. "I hope this is our new and improved Pine Island."
Yahoo
2 hours ago
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German chancellor to travel to US to meet with Trump
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to Washington next week for his first visit since taking office, where he is scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump. Source: Politico, a Brussels-based politics and policy news organisation, citing the German government press service, as reported by European Pravda Details: Merz will travel to the US on 4 May for his first visit under the new German government. His meeting with Trump is set for Thursday 5 June, followed by a joint press conference. At the meeting with Trump, they will discuss the Russo-Ukrainian war, the situation in the Middle East and trade issues. Background: Merz has repeatedly engaged in public disputes with the US administration, particularly after criticism from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance regarding the classification of the far-right Alternative for Germany party as right-wing extremist. Merz stressed that neither Germany nor he personally interfered in the US election campaign or supported any candidate, and he expects the same attitude from the American administration. This week, the German chancellor stated that Europe is ready to fight for its fundamental values – freedom and democracy – thus responding to repeated criticism of the EU by the Trump administration and, in particular, Vice President Vance's infamous speech at the Munich Security Conference. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
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XRP Down 4% as Global Economic Tensions Trigger Market Selloff
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