Nuclear

NRC to certify NuScale small modular reactor

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has told staff to issue a final rule certifying NuScale’s small modular reactor (SMR) design for use in the U.S.
NRC to certify NuScale small modular reactor
NuScale Power Reactor Building (Courtesy: U.S. Dept. of Energy)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has told staff to issue a final rule certifying NuScale’s small modular reactor (SMR) design for use in the U.S.

NuScale is working to commercialize and deploy its SMR as part of the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) at the Idaho National Lab (INL) by the end of the decade. The plant would deploy six, 77-megawatt modules to generate 462 MW of electricity. The first module would go online in 2029.

NuScale submitted its application at the end of 2016 to certify the company’s SMR design. The company tweeted the reactor is the “1st and only SMR design” to receive U.S. NRC approval.

The certification’s effective date is 30 days after the NRC publishes the rule in the Federal Register.

Certification of the NuScale SMR is a significant step toward construction and installation of next-gen nuclear power plants nationwide. Nuclear power plants produce carbon-free electricity, but conventional nukes require billions of dollars in costs and sometimes a decade or more to build and commission.

The NRC has previously certified six other designs: the Advanced Boiling Water Reactor, System 80+, AP600, AP1000, the Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor and the APR1400.

“The combined license application and the NRC’s safety review would address any remaining safety and environmental issues for the proposed nuclear power plant,” said the commission August 1. “The design certification approves the NuScale reactor’s ‘design control document,’ which is incorporated by reference in the final rule.”

Portland-based NuScale’s design uses natural, “passive” processes such as convection and gravity in its operating systems and safety features, and the reactor modules are all submerged in a safety-related pool built below ground level.

NuScale’s power module is a small pressurized water reactor. The company offers a 12-module VOYGR-12 (924 MWe) and a four-module VOYGR-4 (308 MWe), in addition to a six-module VOYGR-6. VOYGR is the official name of NuScale’s small modular reactor.

In late June NuScale and Romania’s state nuclear power corporation S.N. Nuclearelectrica S.A. (Nuclearelectrica) announced a plan to conduct engineering studies, technical reviews, and licensing and permitting activities at a site in Doicesti, Romania, the preferred location for the deployment of the first NuScale VOYGR power plant. The partners signed an MOU in May 2022.

The 8-month effort, expected to cost $28 million in total and including contributions from Nuclearelectrica and NuScale, will provide Romania with key site-specific data – cost, construction, schedule, and licensing details – necessary for the deployment of the SMR.

The aim of the project is to show the ability of advanced nuclear reactors to replace coal generation, while creating thousands of jobs. NuScale President John Hopkins recently spoke with Power Engineering about how the company’s SMR plants are ideal for coal replacement.

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