1st Small Modular Nuclear Reactor Certified For Use In US

The design for the first small modular nuclear reactor in the United States has been approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The rule that certifies the design was published in the Federal Register on Thursday. Companies that want to build and run a nuclear power plant can choose NuScale Power’s design for a 50-megawatt advanced light-water small modular nuclear reactor and apply for a license from the NRC.

NRC spokesperson Scott Burnell said Friday that the design cannot be legally challenged during the licensing process when someone wants to build and run a nuclear power plant. This is because it is the final decision on whether or not the design can be used. The rule goes into effect in late February.

The US Energy Department says that the newly approved design “equips the nation with a new clean power source to help drive down” greenhouse gas emissions.

It is the seventh nuclear reactor design approved in the United States. The remainder is for conventional, large, light-water reactors.

This Is A Big Step Towards Clean Energy

Diane Hughes, vice president of marketing and communications at NuScale, says that the design certification is a big step toward a future with clean energy and makes the company’s VOYGR power plant a solution that customers can use soon. Hughes also said that the first application package for the design of a small reactor had more than 2 million pages of supporting materials. the first small modular reactor design application package included over 2 million pages of supporting materials.

However, David Schlissel of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis in Ohio expressed reservations about the costs. Schlissel, who has studied the history of the nuclear power industry and the NuScale project’s finances, believes they will continue to rise, potentially limiting the number of NuScale reactors built. He believes they need to be more price competitive with renewables and battery storage.

Hughes stated that energy projects ranging from wind and solar to hydrogen and nuclear had seen cost increases due to changing financial market dynamics, interest rate hikes, and inflationary pressures on the sector’s supply chain not seen in decades. She said that NuScale’s VOYGR power plant is still a cost-effective source of reliable, affordable, and carbon-free energy.

Nuclear Is A way To Distance itself From Coal, Oil And Natual Gas

Nuclear Power is emerging as an answer for many as states and countries transition away from coal, oil, and natural gas to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and avoid the worst effects of global warming.

Around 40 serious concepts for the next generation of advanced nuclear reactors are being developed globally. China was the first to connect a next-generation reactor to its grid, producing approximately 200 megawatts of Power. In 2021, a high-temperature, gas-cooled reactor went into operation.

Since 2014, the US Energy Department has contributed more than $600 million to the design, and siting of NuScale’s VOYGR small modular reactor power plant. At the Idaho National Laboratory, the department collaborates with Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems to demonstrate a six-module NuScale VOYGR plant. The first module should be operational by 2029.

NuScale has signed 19 agreements in the United States and worldwide to deploy its small reactor technology. According to Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Kathryn Huff, small modular reactors are no longer an abstract concept.

NuScale has also applied to the NRC for approval of a larger design, with a capacity of 77 megawatts per module, and the agency is checking the application for completeness before beginning a full review, according to Burnell.

SOURCE – (AP)