Latest news with #CarbonFreePowerProject
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
NRC approves NuScale's small modular reactor plant design
This story was originally published on Utility Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Utility Dive newsletter. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved NuScale Power's design for a 462-MW small modular reactor power plant, the U.S. nuclear regulator said on Thursday. NRC completed its technical review of NuScale's US460 in less than two years, ahead of schedule and under budget, it said. The US460 is based on NuScale's 12-module, 600-MW US600 design, which NRC approved in 2020 after more than three and a half years of review. The newly-approved design's larger modules will help NuScale power plants more effectively serve hyperscale data center customers, CEO John Hopkins told investors in November. Data centers represent a key segment for the company as it looks to lock down its first U.S. customer this year. The NRC approval came earlier than expected, according to estimated completion timelines provided by NRC and reiterated by Hopkins on several recent investor calls. NuScale had anticipated a final decision by July, Hopkins said on May 12. The approval could be crucial as NuScale moves through 'advanced commercial dialogue with major technology and industrial companies, utilities and national and local governments,' Hopkins said in March. 'Once we get finalization' for the 77-MWe design, 'we're off to the races,' Hopkins said. NuScale has not announced a binding customer deal. But in its first-quarter investor presentation, the company said it expected a 'firm customer order' by the end of this year. NuScale manufacturing partner Doosan has 12 modules in production now at its South Korea foundry and could deliver up to 20 per year in the near term, Hopkins said on May 12. Its first power plant could be operational by the end of 2030 if it gets a finalized deal soon, he added. For now, NuScale is acting as the nuclear technology subcontractor to Fluor Corp. on a 462-MW power plant project in Romania that could reach a final investment decision early next year. Though it has decreased its stake over time and has said it will continue to do so, Fluor remains a major shareholder in NuScale. NuScale previously had an agreement with Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems for a 462-MW commercial power plant at Idaho National Laboratory. Known as the Carbon Free Power Project, that plant — like the design NRC approved on Thursday — would have used six 77-MW modules. But it was canceled in November 2023 as NuScale's target power price rose toward $90/MWh and interest from UAMPS members failed to materialize. Thursday's approval means the US460 meets 'applicable agency safety requirements' and can be referenced in future reactor construction permit, operating license or combined license applications, NRC said. But before building and operating a US460 plant, NuScale, its development partner ENTRA1 Energy or another entity would still have to apply for one or more of those permits or licenses. That process can take 30 months or longer at present, NRC says. Still, NRC's approval positions its technology as 'the most near-term American SMR power solution,' NuScale said on Thursday. In addition to being the only SMR with NRC design approval, NuScale's SMR technology is one of the few that runs on conventional low-enriched uranium rather than more scarce high-assay, low-enriched uranium. The approval boosts NuScale amid broader momentum for U.S. advanced nuclear companies. On May 23, the Trump administration issued four executive orders to expand reactor deployments, ease regulation and shore up domestic fuel and equipment supply chains. One order would require NRC to review new reactor applications within 18 months, significantly shorter than current timelines. Another would expand the roles of the departments of Energy and Defense in reactor licensing and deployment, potentially creating new pathways for design approvals and expedited siting of power plants on federal land. The GOP budget proposal that passed the House on May 22 gutted most clean energy tax credits while sparing the nuclear industry. Though the Senate is likely to change the bill before it comes up for a final vote, the House-passed version allows reactor projects that begin construction by 2028 to qualify for the full value of the Inflation Reduction Act's technology-neutral investment and production tax credits.
Reuters
4 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
US approves bigger nuclear reactor design for NuScale, document says
WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved NuScale Power's (SMR.N), opens new tab design for a 77 megawatt reactor, a document on the regulator's web site said on Thursday, completing one hurdle the company needs to build a small modular reactor. NuScale had originally sought and received NRC approval for a smaller 50 MW reactor design. The company sought a bigger 77 MW design to improve economics and performance of its planned small modular reactors (SMRs). Backers of nuclear power say SMRs will be safer from proliferation risks and can reduce costs for multiple plants because they can be built in a factory instead of onsite. Critics of SMRs say they will be more expensive to operate than conventional reactors, which are larger and have economy of scale. NuScale, the only U.S. company with an approved design, wants to build the country's first SMR. But in 2023 it axed its first project with a municipal power group in Utah, despite a U.S. government promise of $1.35 billion in funding over 10 years for the plant, known as the Carbon Free Power Project. As costs rose, several towns had pulled out of the project.
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Legislative committee focused on plotting Utah's nuclear path
The effort to form the Utah Energy Council, create energy development zones and create a nuclear energy consortium passed on a unanimous vote from the Senate Public Utilities, Energy and Technology Committee on Thursday. HB249 by Rep. Carl Albrecht, R-Richfield, is a measure with a lot of moving parts with areas that will likely need to be tweaked in the years to come. Albrecht has insisted, however, it is a solid start to give Utah's energy portfolio a more diverse and solid future. It is a bill that to position the state to meet growing residential. industrial and commercial demand. The Legislature this session is flush with energy bills, with leadership identifying energy as a top priority and one of the most pressing issues in Utah. The bill by Albrecht does not mean advanced nuclear technology will pop up immediately in the state, but the consortium is tasked with making decisions based on science and what is most appropriate in Utah. House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, spoke favorably about the bill during a recent media availability. 'Nuclear is so much safer now. We are running into energy crisis in our nation. It's seen as most efficient and clean for our future,' he said. 'If we're not going to go to nuclear, what are we going to go to?' He added: 'We have more requests for data centers in Utah than energy we use as a state. Whoever controls AI controls the world. We need more energy. We have an energy shortage. I'm glad the rest of the nation has come on board where Utah has been.' Utah has been identified as a 'first mover' state — only one of a handful — by the Idaho National Laboratory's Frontier Project. That designation means Utah is positioned well to embrace nuclear, not only from a carbon free standpoint but as a way to stimulate economic development. Utah was on the cusp of bringing a small modular reactor to life to serve independent power systems run by municipalities. Named the Carbon Free Power Project, the reactors would have been manufactured off-site and then trucked to the Idaho National Laboratory. The project pushed by the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems went through a laborious permitting process through the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It was the first small modular reactor in the country to receive a stamp of approval on its design. But the delays and the escalating costs associated with the energy production eventually led to shelving the project, but UAMPS officials have said it is not totally off the table if costs come down. Congress is in the midst of tackling the permitting process and passed the ADVANCE Act to streamline the licensing process by the NRC. At a conference last year in Park City, the dedication for the transformation to nuclear energy was clear among top political leaders in Utah. The Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, and state Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, both said that the state has to aggressively pursue next generation nuclear technology if it is going to cut carbon emissions and meet energy demands. 'We want this to come to Utah,' Curtis, now Utah's junior senator, said at the time. 'We want to be a big part of this. We're ready for nuclear facilities here in our state, and we have communities who would welcome that. We have a lot of people in traditional energy sources that this would be very beneficial to them, and we're excited about that.'
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nuclear nonproliferation panel warns Utah leaders to tread lightly
There's a reason why small nuclear reactors were developed in the 1960s and later abandoned: they were too costly. That was one cautionary tale detailed in a panel discussion hosted Monday in Salt Lake City by the Non Proliferation Education Center, a think tank based in Washington, D.C. Scott Kemp, an associate professor of nuclear science and engineering and director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Laboratory for Nuclear Security and Policy, said what is old has become 'new' again. 'There's a really deep history here that you may not know about. The fact that they're small is not in and of itself actually that new. This is where we started in the nuclear industry back in the '50s and '60s,' he said. 'But the industry, as it stretched forward, the reactors kept getting bigger and bigger. So why did we abandon these small reactors? Because they weren't capital efficient, they were too expensive. We needed to make nuclear power more affordable, and we did that by pulling more watts out of a single reactor, and that's still true today.' For small nuclear reactors to compete on a cost scale to other baseload energy and even renewables, there would be millions — many millions — of the unites that would need to be built, he asserted. In terms of costs and accountability, many pointed to the Carbon Free Power Project pursued by the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, which was shelved because not enough independent power producers took interest, and as the project progressed, the cost of energy became too high. Scott Williams, a former director of HEAL Utah that opposed the project, said one of the most troubling aspects of the the UAMPS process was its reliability on municipal investors and their lack of knowledge on the ramifications of embracing nuclear. In addition, UAMPS is not subject to Utah's open meetings law and could pursue the small modular reactor plant at Idaho National Laboratory without scrutiny, Williams said. UAMPS did have to get municipal buy-in from its participating entities, all subject to city council meetings and a vote open to the public. The project had 'off ramps' for cities that wanted to bow out because of costs, and many ultimately opted to get off the nuclear highway. Others expressed doubt over President Donald Trump's commitment to nuclear energy, especially with his 'drill baby drill' agenda. Ken Maize, proprietor of the Quad Report, a platform dedicated to in-depth analysis of energy policy and political developments, said he hasn't heard a word about nuclear from Trump. Although his newly-nominated Energy Secretary Chris Wright listed nuclear as one of his top priorities — it was down on the list as No. 7 out of a list of nine goals. Although Maize said Wright was an investor in a small modular reactor company, he does not hold out much hope for any revolutionary change in the field of nuclear energy since energy dominates the conversation when it comes to how much someone pays at the pump. 'So that leaves my bottom line, which is I don't see much coming out of Washington that will have a significant impact on nuclear energy around the rest of the country, at least not until after the 2026 midterm elections.' When pressed about Operation Gigawatt and its commitment to funding nuclear, Tim Kowalchik, an emerging technology strategist at the Utah Office of Energy Development, said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox's Operation Gigawatt is a long-range plan eying Utah's energy future down the road. The governor's budget plan aims to set aside $20 million for nuclear and a Utah lawmaker is seeking to establish a nuclear energy consortium made up of experts. Kowalchik stressed it is up to Utah lawmakers to decide how that money is spent and the consortium is meant to get the ball rolling. That is part of a bill, HB249, sponsored by Rep. Carl Albrecht, R-Richfield. 'These are exploratory steps. It's worth looking at, and at the very least, gauging the temperature.'
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Will Utah become a nuclear powerhouse some day?
A legislative bill to establish the Utah Energy Council, energy development zones and a nuclear energy consortium unanimously passed Monday out of the House Public Utilities and Energy Committee. The bill, HB249 by Rep. Carl Albrecht, R-Richfield, aims to position Utah as a player in energy innovation and foster plans for the future for microreactors or small modular reactor technology. 'We've got to start somewhere,' Albrecht told the committee. 'This will not be a plant tomorrow or the next day or the next year. This plant generation is going to be 10 to 15 years down the road, and hopefully technology improves and we generate power with zero carbon.' Utah has been identified by the IdIdaho National Laboratory as a 'first mover' state in the arena of advanced nuclear technology deployment — just one of a handful. That designation means Utah, with its research universities and all of the above energy approach is an ideal candidate to deploy nuclear to not only tamp emissions but to aid in economic development. The Frontiers Project has been working closely with Utah's congressional delegation and state representatives, as well as Utah's office of Energy Development. The state Legislature is serious about using that advantage and has taken out the notebooks and done some research. Lawmakers toured the facility west of Idaho Falls and also made a trip to the White Mesa processing mill in San Juan County. Albrecht was blunt when it came to meeting Utah's future energy needs, asserting multiple data centers want to locate here but Rocky Mountain Power lacks the capacity to meet their demand. Their solution is to get natural gas plants up and running to power their facilities, but in the long run, Albrecht said nuclear has to be part of the equation. 'So as you well know, energy production and security and reliability is a statewide issue. Utah is trying to get ahead of this. As you well know, we've got a lot of data centers that want to come to Utah. We're talking anywhere from 50 megawatts on up to 500 megawatts of power.' Albrecht conceded the bill has a lot of moving parts and is a work in progress but he was adamant. 'We have to start somewhere.' He surmised it will be tweaked and changed and evolve over the years, likely long after he has left the legislature. 'Politicians are like diapers. They need to be changed once in awhile.' He also conceded the failure of the NuScale small modular reactor planned at Idaho National Laboratory but later shelved due to costs for ratepayers of participating cities and districts. He received support, however, from the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems which pursued the Carbon Free Power Project. 'Through the process of this, of our development of the project, we realized a number of the commercial considerations related to developing new nuclear in the state,' said Michael Suarez, government affairs director for UAMPS. 'You know at UAMPS we had many municipalities lead out on this issue. You know that with Utah's pioneering spirit, we can get this done, and we can get anything done as Utahns if we're collaborating and working together. ' The bill received other praise. 'We can move forward with a stronger, more reliable and sustainable energy future, specifically on nuclear. The nuclear consortium is created here will give us a leg up, bringing together the best minds. This bill is how Utah goes nuclear,' said Joel Ferry, executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources which oversees the state's energy development office. Several critics, however, brought up health and safety concerns, recalling the fate of 'Utah downwinders' who suffered and died from above ground nuclear testing in Nevada. Ava Curtis gave a detailed presentation about the rampage cancer has caused in her family and the serious danger posed by exposure to nuclear radiation. 'What I'm asking from the members of this committee is to take the time to fully understand the risks of nuclear energy and to make sure that those who have been impacted by nuclear energy are voiced in this new committee, this new group that's studying this, including members of the mountain Ute tribe from white Mesa who are affected, members of the Navajo Nation, and those who've been impacted by nuclear energy and uranium refinement, such as my own family. Our voices should be heard when making energy decisions for a community.' Albrecht had his own story to tell, sympathizing with her about uranium mining during the Cold War era when his family worked in the uranium mines. 'I'm pretty close to nuclear and uranium because during the '50s and '60s, my dad had uranium mines on the San Rafael Swell. I was just a little, but I can remember going down to those mines. I had two brothers working in them, and some other relatives and people who worked for my dad, and he shipped that uranium, which was low grade uranium, to Grand Junction, Shiprock, and sold it to the U.S. government to build bombs with to end the Cold War,' Albrecht said. 'I had a brother die from cancer. Now I don't know if that was from working in the uranium mine, hauling the uranium in a truck, or from downwinders, and nobody will know to this day, but the cemeteries in southern Utah has already been alluded and they are full of people who died from cancer, all forms of cancer, because the government lied to us when they did the testing in Nevada. But we have comes a long way since then.' Utah, he added, needs to be positioned to take the leap if nuclear promises carbon free power, safety and reliability. This he stressed, is a first exploratory step.
