While Dominion stressed the RFP is not a commitment to build an SMR at North Anna, the company said it is an important first step in evaluating the technology and the North Anna site.

The company announced the news at an event at North Anna. Company leaders were joined at the event by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, Virginia State Senator Dave Marsden, Virginia State Senator Mark Peake and Louisa County Board of Supervisors Chair Duane Adams, among other local and state leaders.

“For over 50 years nuclear power has been the most reliable workhorse of Virginia’s electric fleet, generating 40% of our power and with zero carbon emissions,” said Robert M. Blue, Chair, President and CEO of Dominion Energy. “As Virginia’s need for reliable and clean power grows, SMRs could play a pivotal role in an ‘all-of-the-above’ approach to our energy future. Along with offshore wind, solar and battery storage, SMRs have the potential to be an important part of Virginia’s growing clean energy mix.”

“The Commonwealth’s potential to unleash and foster a rich energy economy is limitless,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “To meet the power demands of the future, it is imperative we continue to explore emerging technologies that will provide Virginians access to the reliable, affordable and clean energy they deserve. In alignment with our All-American, All-of-the-Above energy plan, small nuclear reactors will play a critical role in harnessing this potential and positioning Virginia to be a leading nuclear innovation hub.”

The company also announced that it intends to seek rider recovery of SMR development costs in a filing with the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) expected in the fall. This step was enabled by bipartisan legislation passed by the Virginia General Assembly earlier this year.

The legislation contains cost caps limiting current SMR development cost recovery to no more than $1.40 per month for a typical residential customer. The company said it anticipates its initial request will be “substantially” below that limit.

DOE estimates the U.S. will need approximately 700-900 GW of additional clean, firm capacity to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, and it says nuclear power is a proven option that could be deployed to meet this need, including the growing demand from artificial intelligence and other data centers and the reshoring of manufacturing.

Created by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 and funded by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, DOE anticipates offering funding in two tiers:   

• Tier 1: First Mover Team Support, managed by the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), plans to provide up to $800M to support up to two first-mover teams of utility, reactor vendor, constructor, and end-users or power off-takers committed to deploying a first plant while at the same time facilitating a multi-reactor, Gen III+ SMR orderbook.  
• Tier 2: Fast Follower Deployment Support, managed by the Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), plans to provide up to $100M to spur additional Gen III+ SMR deployments by addressing key gaps that have hindered the domestic nuclear industry in areas such as design, licensing, supplier development, and site preparation.  

DOE anticipates releasing a funding solicitation in late summer or fall of 2024.

DOE said projects are expected to (1) support meaningful community and labor engagement; (2) invest in quality jobs; (3) advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; and (4) contribute to the goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities (the Justice40 Initiative). The strength of a proposal’s community benefits, including a project’s impact on equity and environmental justice, will be considered when reviewing applications. 

“President Biden is determined to ensure nuclear power — the nation’s single largest source of carbon free electricity — continues to serve as a key pillar of our nation’s transition to a safe and secure clean energy future,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Today’s announcement will support early movers in the nuclear sector as we seek to scale up nuclear power and reassert American leadership in this critical energy industry.” 

ATLANTA (AP) — The second of two new nuclear reactors in Georgia has entered commercial operation, capping a project that cost billions more and took years longer than originally projected.

Georgia Power Co. and fellow owners announced the milestone Monday for Plant Vogtle’s Unit 4, which joins an earlier new reactor southeast of Augusta in splitting atoms to make carbon-free electricity.

Unit 3 began commercial operation last summer, joining two older reactors that have stood on the site for decades. They’re the first two nuclear reactors built in the United States in decades.

The new Vogtle reactors are currently projected to cost Georgia Power and three other owners $31 billion, according to calculations by The Associated Press. Add in $3.7 billion that original contractor Westinghouse paid Vogtle owners to walk away from construction, and the total nears $35 billion.

Electric customers in Georgia already have paid billions for what may be the most expensive power plant ever. The reactors were originally projected to cost $14 billion and be completed by 2017.

Utilities and their political supporters on Monday hailed the plant’s completion. Georgia Gov Brian Kemp proclaimed he was “thankful for this historic achievement by Georgia Power and its partners.” Chris Womack, CEO of Atlanta-based Southern Co., which owns Georgia Power, argues Vogtle will make the state’s electrical grid more reliable and resilient and help the utility meet its goal of zeroing out carbon emissions by 2050.

“These new Vogtle units not only will support the economy within our communities now and in the future, they demonstrate our global nuclear leadership,” Womack said in a statement.

Each of the two new reactors can power 500,000 homes and businesses without releasing any carbon.

Even some opponents of Vogtle have said the United States can’t achieve carbon-free electricity without nuclear power. But Georgia Power, like other utilities, plans to build more fossil fuel generation in coming years, saying demand is rising sharply. That demand, driven by computer data centers, is being felt by multiple utilities across the country.

Calculations show Vogtle’s electricity will never be cheaper than other sources the owners could have chosen, even after the federal government reduced borrowing costs by guaranteeing repayment of $12 billion in loans.

“Hopefully, despite being seven years late and billions over budget, the two new units at Plant Vogtle will finally perform well for at least the next 80 years to justify the excessive cost,” said Liz Coyle, executive director of Georgia Watch, a consumer group that fought to limit rate increases

In Georgia, almost every electric customer will pay for Vogtle. Georgia Power owns 45.7% of the reactors. Smaller shares are owned by Oglethorpe Power Corp., which provides electricity to member-owned cooperatives, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and the city of Dalton. Utilities in Jacksonville, Florida, as well as in the Florida Panhandle and parts of Alabama also have contracted to buy Vogtle’s power.

Regulators in December approved an additional 6% rate increase on Georgia Power’s 2.7 million customers to pay for $7.56 billion in remaining costs at Vogtle, with the company absorbing $2.6 billion in costs. That’s expected to cost the typical residential customer an additional $8.97 a month in May, on top of the $5.42 increase that took effect when Unit 3 began operating.

Even as government officials and some utilities are looking to nuclear power to alleviate climate change, the cost of Vogtle could discourage utilities from pursuing nuclear power. American utilities have heeded Vogtle’s missteps, shelving plans for 24 other reactors proposed between 2007 and 2009. Two half-built reactors in South Carolina were abandoned. But Westinghouse is marketing the reactor design abroad.

China has said it will build more reactors using the design, while Bulgaria, Poland and Ukraine also say they intend to build nuclear power stations using the Westinghouse reactor.

Commercial operation is expected by the early 2030s, the companies said.

The agreement is to build four AP300 SMRs in the North Teesside region of Northeast England. The region is experiencing industrial and economic development, which the companies say is driving increasing demand for carbon-free electricity. CNP is also working with strategic partners, including Jacobs and Interpath Advisory, to develop a fully licensed site for the project, with a target of 2027.

Westinghouse says the project is in accordance with the recently published UK Government Alternative Routes to Market for New Nuclear Projects consultation and complementary to the company’s participation in Great British Nuclear’s (GBN) SMR technology selection process.

“This project brings together Westinghouse’s proven technology and mature supply chain with our depth of expertise in nuclear program delivery, in a region that is transforming its industrial landscape,” said Paul Foster, Community Nuclear Power’s CEO. “We are delighted to be working with Westinghouse in support of private deployment in North Teesside.”

In May 2023, Westinghouse launched the AP300 small modular reactor, an SMR based on a large Generation III+ reactor already in operation globally, the AP1000 technology. Unlike every other SMR under development with first-of-a-kind technologies and risks, Westinghouse’s AP300 SMR utilizes the AP1000 engineering, components, and supply chain.

This agreement is an extension of Oklo and SODI’s announcement in May 2023, related to the deployment of two Aurora powerhouses, and the company says it signifies progress toward siting development and implementation. SODI is a nonprofit community improvement corporation and serves as the DOE-designated community reuse organization for the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) facility near Piketon, Ohio.

Subject to the terms and conditions of the land rights agreement and in exchange for an upfront fee, which will be credited toward any purchase by Oklo under the land rights agreement, SODI has granted Oklo an option and right of first refusal to purchase land in Southern Ohio from SODI.

Oklo aims to build its second and third plants on land owned by SODI, it announced last May. The land will host two commercial 15-MWe Aurora powerhouses (30 MWe total) and over 50 MW of clean heating, with opportunities to expand.

Oklo’s Aurora powerhouse design is a fast neutron reactor that would transport heat from the reactor core to a power conversion system and is designed to run on material from used nuclear fuel known as HALEU, or “high assay, low-enriched uranium.” The reactor builds on the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II and space reactor legacy.

Oklo obtained a site use permit from the DOE for the Idaho site at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in 2019. The company applied with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in March 2020 to build and operate a reactor at INL. This was the first combined license application ever accepted by the NRC for an advanced non-light water reactor.

The company recently announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has reviewed and approved the Safety Design Strategy (SDS) for its Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility at INL. The Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility is being designed to demonstrate the reuse of recovered nuclear material to support Oklo’s planned commercial advanced fission power plant demonstration at INL.

Oklo was selected for access to the fuel material through a competitive process launched in 2019 by INL. The goal of the solicitation was to accelerate the deployment of commercially viable reactors by providing developers with access to the material needed to produce fuel for their reactors. The DOE is supporting INL to produce High-Assay, Low-Enriched Uranium for advanced reactors by recovering uranium through electrorefining treatment on used fuel from the now-decommissioned Experimental Breeder Reactor-II.

The SDS marks the initial stage in a comprehensive DOE approval process prior to the operation of the Aurora Fuel Fabrication Facility. Oklo and Battelle Energy Alliance, operator of INL, are currently working on the next phase, focusing on the Conceptual Safety Design Report (CSDR). The purpose of the CSDR is to summarize the hazard analysis efforts and safety-in-design decisions incorporated into the conceptual design, along with any identified project risks associated with the selected strategies.

The Pueblo Innovative Energy Solutions Advisory Committee (PIESAC) was assembled to study and make recommendations regarding future plans at Comanche Generating Station, located in Pueblo, Colorado. The 11-member committee released its recommendations in a new report.

The recommendations are expected to inform how Xcel Energy replaces Comanche 3 as part of its next resource plan, expected to be filed in June 2024. That proposal will include a summary of bids submitted by developers to supply generation by the end of 2031.

After reviewing the clean energy technologies that could be available by 2031, the committee concluded that the scope should be expanded to 2034, citing the lack of resources available by 2031 that could also provide a satisfactory amount of jobs. Comanche 3 is set to close in 2031.

PIESAC recommended top replacement options of “advanced nuclear” such as small modular reactors (SMRs), or a new combined cycle gas plant with carbon capture. But the committee clearly favored the SMR option, citing more jobs and tax benefits.

The committee said a combined cycle plant with carbon capture would generate 20 to 25 jobs, along with tax payments of approximately $16.5 million a year. But an advanced nuclear plant could potentially provide 200 to 300 jobs and tax payments of $95.29 million annually.

“Of all of the technologies that we studied, only advanced nuclear generation will make Pueblo whole and also provide a path to prosperity,” the committee said in the report.

Nuclear’s Evolution is an educational track at the POWERGEN International® exhibition and summit, which serves as an education, business and networking hub for electricity generators, utilities, and solution providers engaged in power generation. Join us from January 23-25, 2024, in New Orleans, Louisiana!

The report `also noted the potential economic impact of closing the coal plant. Over $15 million of the $25 million in taxes paid by Xcel Energy to Pueblo annually comes from Comanche 3. The committee estimated that closing Comanche 3 in 2031 instead of the originally planned date of 2070 will result in $845 million in lost taxes for Pueblo.

Xcel’s Clean Energy Plan, approved by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission in 2022, aims to reduce carbon emissions by nearly 85% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels, and to provide Colorado customers with electricity from 80% renewable sources. To meet these goals, Xcel has planned the retirement of several coal plants, including Comanche Station Unit 3.

The report estimates that closing the Comanche 3 plant will result in a 36.8% reduction in Xcel’s emissions and a 20.5% reduction of statewide emissions from the electric sector as compared to 2005 levels.

An Xcel Energy spokesperson sent us a statement which reads in part: “We’ll continue studying advanced nuclear technology as it matures and determine if it can provide clean, reliable and affordable energy for customers in all eight of our states, but especially in Pueblo, Colorado.” 

Comanche Station sprawls roughly 695 acres and includes three coal generation units. 460 acres are currently being used and 220 are undeveloped, the report said, with 12 acres being used for a long-duration battery storage project.

Comanche 1 closed in 2022 and Comanche 2 is scheduled to close in 2025. The Comanche Station has existing assets that could be re-used for later generation, including a rail network, transmission capacity and injection, and a take or pay water contract with the Pueblo Board of Waterworks for 13,000 acre feet per year through 2060.

Oklo’s Aurora design is a fast neutron reactor that would transport heat from the reactor core to a power conversion system and is designed to run on material from used nuclear fuel known as HALEU, or “high assay, low-enriched uranium.” The reactor builds on the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II and space reactor legacy.

Oklo said through this partnership it would would gain access to a well-established supply chain for essential components, a key catalyst for scaling up and improving the reliability of its fission power plants. Siemens Energy would also provide consulting to support Oklo in the design work of the conventional island.

Oklo plans to commercialize its liquid metal fast reactor technology with the Aurora powerhouse, which is designed to produce up to 15 MW of electricity on both recycled nuclear fuel and fresh fuel. Oklo said its fission technology first was demonstrated by the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II, which sold and supplied power to the grid and showed waste recycling capabilities over 30 years of operation.

The company also has secured a site use permit from the U.S. Department of Energy and a fuel award from the Idaho National Laboratory for a commercial-scale advanced fission power plant in Idaho, which is targeted to go online in 2026 or 2027.

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Last year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) rejected Oklo’s application to build and operate the company’s Aurora compact fast reactor in Idaho. Oklo submitted the application in March 2020 and sought an NRC license for the 1.5 MW reactor to be built at the Idaho National Laboratory. The license application was accepted in June of that year.

Although NRC said that Oklo submitted supplementary information on several topics in both July and October, it found the information remained insufficient.

Oklo’s application contained “significant information gaps” in its description of Aurora’s potential accidents as well as its classification of safety systems and components, the NRC said. Although the gaps prevented further review, NRC said it was prepared to re-engage with Oklo if the company submits a revised application.

Later in 2022, Oklo submitted another licensing project plan to the NRC, and said the plan outlines future licensing activities and aims to support an “efficient and effective review process.”

Earlier this year, Oklo announced it would build its second and third plants on land owned by the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative (SODI). The land will host two commercial 15-MWe Aurora powerhouses (30 MWe total) and over 50 MW of clean heating, with opportunities to expand.

Also this year, the U.S. Air Force, through the Defense Logistics Agency, said it intends to award a contract to Oklo to install its nuclear microreactor for power and heat at the Eielson Air Force Base. The award comes from the Air Force’s microreactor pilot program. Oklo would obtain a license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), construct the plant and operate it under a long-term power purchase agreement.

In July, Oklo announced it would be acquired by AltC Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, and would seek a listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “OKLO.”

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is issuing a construction permit for a new type of nuclear reactor that uses molten salt to cool the reactor core.

The NRC is issuing the permit to Kairos Power for the Hermes test reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the agency said Tuesday. The reactor won’t generate generate electricity and it will be far smaller than traditional ones.

This is the first construction permit the NRC has issued for a reactor that uses something other than water to cool the reactor core. The United States Atomic Energy Commission, the predecessor to the NRC, did license other types of designs.

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Kairos Power is working on fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor technology. The California-based company received funding from the Department of Energy. The 35-MW thermal reactor will test the concept of using molten salt as a coolant and test the type of nuclear fuel, the NRC said.

Kairos Power aims to develop a larger version for commercial electricity that could be used in the early 2030s. It says the construction permit is a big step forward as it works to deploy clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy.

The global nuclear industry launched an initiative at this year’s U.N. climate talks for nations to pledge to triple nuclear energy by 2050. More than 20 have already signed on, including the United States and the host of COP28, the United Arab Emirates.

The NRC has certified one small modular nuclear reactor design for use anywhere in the United States, a light-water reactor by Oregon-based NuScale Power.

Kairos Power took a different approach and asked the NRC for permission to build its test reactor only at the Oak Ridge site. It still needs an operating license. It applied for a second construction permit for a larger version, a two-unit demonstration plant, also at Oak Ridge.

The NRC is expecting at least two more applications next year for construction permits from other companies working on small modular reactors or advanced designs.

Critics say it would be safer to use other low-carbon technologies to address climate change, such as solar and wind power.

Gov. Pritzker signed House Bill 2473 on Friday, enacting several changes related to nuclear power in the state. Besides allowing the development of small modular reactors, the bill:

• Requires the Illinois Emergency Management and Office of Homeland Security to adopt rules for the regulation of small modular reactors, including rules regarding decommissioning, emergency preparedness, and fees.
• Sets forth provisions concerning inspections of small modular reactors.
• Authorizes the governor to commission a study on regulatory gaps for the development of small modular reactors in the State.
• Requires the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security to lead the study by researching and developing small modular reactors.
• Provides that the Illinois Nuclear Safety Preparedness Act and the Illinois Nuclear Facility Safety Act do not apply to small modular reactors.
• Removes the definition of “high-level nuclear waste.”

Legislation to lift the moratorium passed with bipartisan support in May. But Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker vetoed the bill in August, saying the vague definitions in Senate Bill 76 would “open the door to proliferation of large-scale nuclear reactors that are so costly to build that they will cause exorbitant ratepayer-funded bailouts.”

Gov. Pritzker has expressed support for SMRs in the past. In his comments following the veto, he said SMRs have “real potential” but that the bill provided no regulatory protections for the health and safety of Illinois residents who would live and work around them.

In November, Sen. Sue Rezin, a Republican from Morris, Illinois who sponsored SB 76, proposed fresh legislation.

To answer the governor’s concerns, the latest plan instructed the Illinois Emergency Management Agency to develop guidelines on decommissioning reactors, environmental monitoring, and emergency preparedness by Jan. 1, 2026. It also reduced the allowable maximum size of each small modular reactor to 300 MW, down from 345.

The Illinois Senate approved the plan in November, followed by the House.

Environmentalists have criticized the plan, noting that small modular reactors are a decade or more from viability. Sponsoring Sen. Sue Rezin, a Republican from Morris, said that’s the reason, coupled with a federal permitting process of as much as eight years, her legislation is timely.

“If we want to take advantage of the amazing advancements in new nuclear technology that have occurred over the past couple of decades and not fall behind the rest of the states, we need to act now,” Rezin said in November.

According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, 19 states considered legislation and 12 states enacted policies to support existing and new nuclear generation in 2022. West Virginia and Connecticut repealed their nuclear moratoriums last year.

But Illinois is notable because it generates more electricity from nuclear energy than any other state, accounting for one-eighth of the nation’s total nuclear power generation. In 2022, the state’s 6 nuclear power plants, with 11 total reactors, produced 52% of the state’s electricity net generation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Illinois aims to produce strictly carbon-free power by 2045.

This article contains reporting from the Associated Press.

Holtec purchased the shuttered Palisades plant in 2022 and wants to restart it. Twin SMR-300 reactors would each add 300 MW of power at the site in Covert Township, Michigan. The existing Palisades plant went into operation in 1971 and generated 800 MW before it was retired.

Holtec’s SMR is a pressurized water reactor producing around 300 MW of electrical power or 1050 MW of thermal power for process applications. Holtec said it has undergone several design evolutions since 2011, including the incorporation of forced flow capability overlayed on gravity-driven flow in the plant’s primary system.

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Holtec said the existing large-reactor plant is refurbished with an array of enhancements, and the company is targeting a return-to-service date for the end of 2025.

The plant’s restart has received bipartisan support, including from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The state also included $150 million to restart the plant in its latest budget.

Holtec has asked the NRC to reinstate its operating license for the plant and to re-hire staff.

But the effort needs federal funding, expected to be the primary investment in the plan’s restart. Holtec hopes to tap a $6 billion fund at the Department of Energy earmarked to preserve the U.S. nuclear reactor fleet and associated jobs.

Federal energy officials are still reviewing the company’s $1 billion grant application. Holtec officials have been quoted as saying it would take hundreds of millions of dollars for facility renovations and to buy nuclear fuel.

In September, Holtec and Wolverine Power Cooperative announced the signing of a long-term power purchase agreement involving the plant. Wolverine would purchase up to two-thirds of the power generated by Palisades for its Michigan-based member rural electric cooperatives. Indiana-based Hoosier Energy, another G&T Cooperative, would purchase the rest.

The filing of the Construction Permit Application for the two SMRs is targeted for 2026, shortly after the existing Palisades plant would return to service.