Latest news with #ScottFiedler
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
TVA becomes first U.S. utility to apply for permit to build first modular nuclear reactor
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) became the first utility in the U.S. to apply for a permit to build the first modular nuclear reactor. A modular nuclear reactor is smaller in size and can be built more easily, faster, and cheaper than traditional reactors. The TVA announced this week that it submitted the first permit application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to build a small, modular nuclear reactor. 'This is huge. Very exciting for the TVA, our region, and the nation,' Scott Fiedler, a spokesperson for the TVA said. The TVA hopes to build the reactor along the Clinch River in Oak Ridge. The permit application process took around three years, according to the TVA. It comes as Gov. Bill Lee pushes to make Tennessee a hub for nuclear energy. 'Nuclear energy has a lot of benefits,' Fiedler said. 'Number one, uranium. It's mined here in the United States and we have plenty of it. Two, very safe. Safe technology, we know a lot about it, highly regulated, and finally, it's extremely reliable and cheap. We want abundant, low-cost power to fuel American jobs, and nuclear is the way to go.' The Tennessee Valley Authority has already applied for an $800 million federal grant to help fund the project. Fiedler told News 2 nuclear energy will be the backbone of the power grid and drive the economy. 'Electricity, unlike any other commodity, gold, oil, it's truly now the building block of the economy,' Fiedler said. 'It will power our prosperity and drive American jobs, not only here in Tennessee, but if we can export this technology, it will drive a cleaner world, and all of that starts here in Tennessee.' ⏩ The NRC will review permit applications for two years. Then, there will be a six-month public comment period. The TVA can begin site preparations and non-nuclear construction as early as Jan. 2026. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
TVA is first US utility to apply for an SMR construction permit
This story was originally published on Utility Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Utility Dive newsletter. The Tennessee Valley Authority on Tuesday became the first American utility to submit a small modular reactor construction permit application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The application is a key step in TVA's plan to build a 300-MW SMR by 2032 at its 1,200-acre Clinch River Nuclear site in Tennessee. Non-nuclear construction could begin next January 'or sooner' as the NRC works through an expected two years of review and six months of public hearings, TVA spokesperson Scott Fiedler said in an email. TVA aims to begin nuclear construction at Clinch River in late 2028 and commission the new power plant by the end of 2032, 'subject to change based on regulatory approval and other factors,' it says. In a statement hailing 'a significant milestone for TVA, our region and our nation,' TVA President and CEO Don Moul said the application would accelerate 'the development of new nuclear technology, its supply chain and delivery model to unleash American energy.' TVA says it will be the first U.S. utility to deploy GE Hitachi's BWRX-300 boiling water SMR. The design borrows from larger boiling water reactors developed by GE since the 1960s, but occupies a significantly smaller footprint and incorporates passive safety features that nuclear experts say reduce the risk of safety events. Advanced nuclear reactors like the BWRX-300 will help power producers deliver the energy needed to support artificial intelligence, quantum computing and advanced manufacturing industries, TVA said in a news release announcing the application. In 2023, TVA said it would form a working group with GE Hitachi, Ontario Power Generation and Synthos Green Energy to develop a standard design for the BWRX-300 and its modular components. The $400 million effort aimed to ready the reactor for deployment in the U.S., Canada, Poland and other countries, TVA said. 'TVA has put in the work to advance the design and develop the first application for the BWRX-300 technology, creating a path for other utilities who choose to build the same technology,' Moul said. In April, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission approved an Ontario Power Generation application to build the first of four BWRX-300 reactors at its Darlington nuclear power plant site. OPG hopes to begin construction later this year and commission the first reactor in 2029. In its 2025 draft integrated resource plan, TVA proposed adding up to 1 GW of nuclear capacity by 2035. That would be a small share of a new generation mix dominated by solar (up to 20 GW), gas (up to 19 GW) and energy storage (up to 6 GW). But TVA appears committed to ensuring nuclear remains part of its energy mix in the future. 'This is not about building an SMR. We are working to develop a technology, a supply chain, a delivery model and an industry that will unleash American energy,' Moul said last month, as TVA announced its application for a $800 million DOE grant to offset some of the Clinch River project's costs. The years-long federal permitting process for new reactors is a check on TVA's — and other reactor sponsors' — near-term nuclear ambitions. The NRC review of TVA's construction permit application could stretch into 2028, based on NRC's generic schedule. If NRC issues the construction permit, TVA could begin building the reactor complex while seeking a separate operating license that NRC says can take up to 36 months to review. A final decision on the operating license might not come until 2031 or early 2032, not far off from TVA's December 2032 target to power up the reactor. The BWRX-300 does have a significant advantage over some competing advanced reactor designs: It uses the same low-enriched uranium fuel as the other 94 reactors in the U.S. commercial fleet. That means it can tap into an established, global supply chain for the material. SMRs under development by X-energy, Oklo and other emerging nuclear technology companies require high-assay, low-enriched uranium, or HALEU, which is much scarcer. The U.S. is investing billions to develop a domestic HALEU supply chain to counter a self-imposed ban on Russian HALEU imports that takes effect in 2028. But substantial domestic, private-sector supplies remain years off. Recommended Reading Santee Cooper wants to sell its unfinished reactors. What happens next?
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
TVA set all-time power demand record Wednesday
Jan. 27—As the coldest temperatures so far this winter hit the Tennessee Valley last week, the TVA's power generation system met the highest peak demand in the agency's over 91-year history. Wednesday's preliminary all-time record peak of 35,319 megawatts came at 8 a.m. CT with a system temperature of 11 degrees, the Tennessee Valley Authority said in a news release, and TVA's power system remained stable throughout the event. During Winter Storm Elliott in December 2022, TVA instructed its local power distributors to implement rolling blackouts in their service areas to manage power supply and demand to prevent a total blackout. TVA spokesman Scott Fiedler said the TVA Cumberland Fossil Plant in Cumberland City, Tennessee, had to shut down during this time due to maintenance issues, forcing TVA to curtail loads. Since then, TVA has invested heavily into hardening its power production facilities. To prevent freezing of facilities and instrumentation, TVA added insulation, built enclosures around exposed and vulnerable equipment, and modernized heat trace technology, including installation of heated electrical cabling along pipes that prevents both the liquid inside and the critical instrumentation used to monitor the system from freezing. TVA also has installed smart heat trace monitoring systems which send real-time readings to control rooms, allowing operators to respond to indications of potential freezing issues, TVA said. "A lot of our plants have equipment that's exposed to the elements and so through the winter months it's important that we protect our instrumentation as well as the critical components, so they are not impacted by significant cold weather," said Eric Grau, TVA general manager for gas operations. "The natural gas fleet really provides a flexible and resilient bedrock to be able to bridge between our baseload fleet and our top-peaking resources." In fiscal 2024, TVA says it has invested $430 million to harden its system and enhance the reliability and resiliency of its natural gas, coal and hydro generating fleet. "We have continued to harden our system for the weather and learn from each extreme cold event," said Greg Henrich, TVA senior vice president. "We enhance our procedures every year to keep the power system stable and reliable during extreme temperatures. ... We also appreciate all of our partners in the Tennessee Valley — residents and businesses — who heeded TVA's call to conserve power during the peak morning hours on Wednesday." TVA said that, because the region's population is growing three times faster than the national average, the authority is investing nearly $16 billion over the next several years to build additional generation and infrastructure. TVA said it is building about 3,500 megawatts of additional generation and has completed 1,400 megawatts and secured 800 megawatts of solar last year. — eric@ or 256-340-2435
