The U.S. Department of Energy approved a cost-share award of nearly $1.36 billion to help develop the first NuScale Power LLC small, modular nuclear reactor project in the nation, the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, or UAMPS, announced on Oct. 16.
The DOE awarded the funding, which will be allocated over the course of a decade, to an entity owned by UAMPS to build the UAMPS Carbon Free Power Project. The 720-MWe NuScale power plant will be constructed at the DOE's Idaho National Laboratory, encompassing 12 60-MWe nuclear reactors.
The award will pay for the plant's one-time costs, as funds are appropriated by Congress, reflecting "what second and subsequent NuScale plants would cost," according to a release from UAMPS. The funding serves to help ensure a levelized cost of energy target of $55/MWh with a manageable risk to the UAMPS, which is a wholesale power provider and a political subdivision of the state of Utah.
That cost should make the plant competitive with other dispatchable energy sources, including combined cycle gas plants, according to the release. The project will generate power to replace aging coal plants.
"It is entirely appropriate for DOE to help de-risk this first-of-a-kind, next-generation nuclear project," said Douglas Hunter, UAMPS CEO and general manager. "This is a great example of a partnership with DOE to lower the cost of introduction of transformative advanced nuclear technology that will provide affordable, carbon-free electricity all over the country and the world."
American Nuclear Society CEO and Executive Director Craig Piercy said the next-generation reactors will provide more domestic jobs and market opportunities abroad.
"The award will accelerate the deployment of NuScale's small modular reactors in supplying carbon-free power and ensuring the reliability of power grids with growing amounts of intermittent renewable electricity," Piercy said in a statement.
The announcement comes just days after the DOE awarded two companies, TerraPower LLC and X-energy, $80 million each to build advanced reactors to operate within seven years.