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NuclearPlantJournal.com Nuclear Plant Journal, September-October 2014
Investment options today are available to
support technology development which
can be a combination of public and
private funding and support design and
pre-licensing work. Also, investment for
siting and operation of a plant is another
major option for investment capital.
See HTGR Investor Business Plan -
NGNP Industry Alliance Limited, June
2014.
What are the current activities
going on and who is doing it?
Alliance continues international
collaboration with Japan and Korea. In
2014, we signed a cooperative agreement
with the European Union (EU) Nuclear
Co-generation
Industrial
Initiative
(NC2I) to pool our resources and design
efforts for design and licensing of HTGR
in EU and U.S. and supporting EU HTGR
R&D effort supported by NGNP Industry
Alliance (NIA).
We have continued interactions
with potential investment communities
to design, license and build the first
commercial demonstration unit. These
interactions have introduced us to new
relationships and opportunities which
include follow-up meetings in Saudi
Arabia and trips to the Far East. With
StarCore Nuclear becoming an Alliance
member this year, we began initial
discussions in Canada for design, license
and construction of a commercial scale
mini-HTGR (<50 MWth).
For additional details see Nuclear
Plant Journal May-June 2014 (Volume
32, Number 3) issue page 28.
Contact: John M. Mahoney, PMP,
High
Expectations
International,
telephone: (601) 591-5431, email:
.
NuScale
Timeline
•
Design certification submittal to the
US NRC: second-half of 2016.
•
Scheduled Design certification
approval by NRC: NRC grants
design certification 39 months after
DCA submittal, so late 2019 or early
2020.
•
A target date for construction
commencement: 2020 (safety related
concrete, upon receipt of COL by
licensee).
•
A target dates for the first plant
online: 2023.
Who is funding the project
?
Fluor
Corporation,
a
global
engineering,
procurement
and
construction company with a 60-year
history in commercial nuclear power, is
the majority investor in NuScale. To date,
over $230 million has been spent on the
project.
What are the current activities
going on and who is doing it?
NuScale has been operating
a one-third-scale prototype for 11
years. Facility upgrades are currently
being installed to provide further
measurements necessary for safety code
and reactor design validation. Included
in the upgrades is a state-of-the-art data
acquisition and control system which
interfaces with nearly 500 instruments.
NuScale is approximately 50% complete
with our design certification application.
Any other current status
information?
During a time of uncertainty for other
SMR developers, it has undoubtedly been
a productive year for NuScale Power.
Since winning the second round of the
U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE)
competitively-bid, cost-sharing program
to develop nuclear small modular reactor
(SMR) technology in December 2013,
NuScale has been moving full-speed
ahead. The company expects to submit its
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
application for design certification in
the second half of 2016—meeting a
commercial operation date of 2023 for
its first planned project, in Idaho, with
its partners, Energy Northwest and Utah
Associated Municipal Power Systems.
For additional details see Nuclear
Plant Journal March-April 2014 (Volume
32, Number 2) issue page 27.
Contact: James Mellott, NuScale
Power, 6650 SW Redwood Lane, Suite
210, Portland, Oregon 97224; telephone:
Westinghouse
The passive plant design of the
Westinghouse Small Modular Reactor is
based on our licensed AP1000
®
nuclear
power plant technology. As such, it
utilizes passive safety systems and proven
components that will provide licensing,
construction and operation readiness that
no other SMR supplier can match when
the domestic (U.S.) and international
markets emerge.
The current state of design
definition and preliminary design of
the Westinghouse SMR are to the point
where sufficient technical information
and the plant capabilities basis adequately
and thoroughly answer questions from
potential customers, regulators and
investors.
Although today’s market is still being
driven primarily by flat electricity growth
and low natural gas prices, the degree of
design completion and shorter expected
licensing timeline together provide
Westinghouse an advantage in the market
for deploying our SMR without need for
further technical development in the near
term.
This provides Westinghouse a
distinct and lower risk advantage for plant
deployment when markets begin to open
and potential newplant sales opportunities
develop. A Westinghouse team remains
assigned and committed to the SMR
program to ensure that the Westinghouse
technology and licensing development
are ready for additional investment and
licensing completion when the market
presents the proper opportunities for
our current and potential customers to
purchase this advanced smaller-scale
technology. In doing so, Westinghouse
will remain a key force in the SMR arena
and will continue to remain engaged in
appropriate industry events to ensure our
interests and experiences are represented
and considered.
Contact: Donna Ruff, Westinghouse
Electric Company, 1000 Westinghouse
Drive, Building 1, 517C, Suite 170,
Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania
16066, telephone: (412) 374-4705,
SMR Update...
