SMRs

NuScale has signed a first task order and a statement of commencement with Polish mining and processing firm KGHM Polska Miedź S.A., kicking off early work for a VOYGR nuclear power plant of up to 924 MWe that the partners could deploy as early as 2029 to support KGHM’s copper and silver production in Poland. […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will invest in a major program that will explore the construction of multiple advanced nuclear reactors—starting with a GE-Hitachi BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) at its Clinch River site in Tennessee. TVA Board members during a meeting on Feb. 10 unanimously approved TVA’s “New Nuclear Program,” a broad new initiative […]

A subsidiary of billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy has announced it plans to invest another $3.9 billion into renewable energy in Iowa, with a project that would add more than 2 GW of wind power to the state. Des Moines-based MidAmerican Energy on Jan. 19 said the Wind PRIME project also includes solar power […]

Duke Energy has kicked off an effort to renew the operating licenses of all its 11 nuclear reactors for 20 more years, starting with Oconee Nuclear Station, its largest nuclear plant. The utility on June 21 filed an application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a subsequent license renewal (SLR) for the three-unit 2.5-GW […]

In a brief interview this February, Francesco Venneri, Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. CEO, explained to POWER why the company’s development of its proprietary fully ceramic microencapsulated (FCM) fuel is significant for the future of advanced nuclear, and how the company plans to roll it out.  Seattle-based Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. (USNC), developer of the 5-MWe […]

Another small modular reactor (SMR) design is moving closer to commercial operation after achieving a licensing milestone. GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH), which is designing the BWRX-300 SMR, on Dec. 1 said the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a final safety evaluation report for the first of several licensing topical reports (LTRs) submitted […]

Doubling down on its net-zero efforts, Duke Energy will retire all coal-only units in the Carolinas, multiply its renewable portfolio, and cease emitting methane in its natural gas business by 2030.  The company made the announcements on Oct. 12 at its first environmental, social and governance (ESG) day, a virtual event geared toward its investors. […]

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) took another step to bolster plans to deploy small modular reactors (SMRs) in Ontario, announcing it is advancing engineering and design work with three major advanced nuclear reactor developers: GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH), Terrestrial Energy, and X-energy. The announcement on Oct. 6 stems from a “due diligence” process OPG held […]

What will it realistically take to ready a fission surface power system (FSP)—a small (maybe modular) nuclear reactor—for deployment on the moon by 2027? That’s essentially what Battelle Energy Alliance LLC (BEA), the Department of Energy (DOE), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are asking the private sector in an interesting request for […]

In Part 1 of this series, published in the March 2020 issue, POWER explored how existing reactors may leverage advances in nuclear fuel to boost power generation safety and economics. This installment surveys