Report Squashes Planned New Type Of Nuke Reactors For 4 U.S. States

A new type of nuclear reactor that would provide carbon-free energy to at least four states in the Western US poses financial risks for utilities and their ratepayers, according to a report released Thursday, that was immediately criticized by the project’s owner and the company developing the reactor.

Photo Insert: A rendering of NuScale Power’s small modular nuclear reactor plant.

The report by the Ohio-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis said the small modular nuclear reactor being developed by NuScale Power in Oregon is “too expensive, too risky and too uncertain."

The NuScale design is the only small-scale reactor to win safety approval so far from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the agency is poised to issue a rule this summer that would fully certify it, Jennifer McDermott reported for the Associated Press (AP).

The Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, a cooperative representing utilities in seven Western states, wants to build and operate six of the company’s reactors at the Idaho National Laboratory as part of a broader effort to reduce greenhouse gases and fight climate change.

The first is projected to come online in 2029. In addition to Utah, utilities in Idaho, Nevada, and New Mexico have signed on to receive power from the NuScale reactors, and utilities in Washington and Oregon are considering it, according to the cooperative.

A recent AP survey of the energy policies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia found that a strong majority — about two-thirds — say nuclear energy will help take the place of fossil fuels. Many state energy experts have concluded that power generated from wind, solar, water, and other renewable sources won’t be enough to fully replace energy from oil, coal, and natural gas.

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