- Dominion Opens the Door to SMRs at North Anna
- SMR Developers Submit Bids for UK Funding
- US Exim Bank Said to Be Ready to Fund AP100 Reactors in Bulgaria
- South Africa Sets Plans for 2,500MW Nuclear Power Station
- AtkinsRéalis to Design Fusion Plant for Type One Energy
Dominion Opens the Door to SMRs at North Anna
Dominion Energy Virginia (NYSE:D) announced this week it has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) from multiple leading SMR nuclear technology companies to evaluate the feasibility of developing an SMR at the company’s North Anna Power Station in Louisa County, VA, located about 100 miles southwest of Washington, DC.
The announcement opens the door to the use of SMRs for electricity generation in a state which has the highest concentration of data centers in the country with most of them in the DC suburbs of northern Virginia which is in Dominion’ service area.
Dominion said in its press statement that while the RFP is not a commitment to build an SMR at North Anna, it is an important first step in evaluating the technology and the North Anna site to support Dominion Energy customers’ future energy needs consistent with the company’s most recent (2023) Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). The utility is betting on SMRs having a significantly smaller footprint and lower upfront capital costs.
The company’s IRP specifically calls out SMRs both in terms of the type of reactor designs that are likely to be available in the near term for acquisition, and the timeframe for integrating their generating capacity into its electricity generation service offerings.
“The Company anticipates that SMRs could be a feasible supply-side resource as soon as the 2030s and has included SMRs as a supply-side option in this IRP starting in 2040. Some light-water SMR designs utilize current nuclear fuel technologies with an available supply chain, so their commercial availability may be even sooner.”
Dominion’s Current Reactor Fleet
The North Anna nuclear power station is home to two PWRs being Unit 1 commissioned in June 1978 at 948 MW and Unit 2 commissioned in December 1980 at 944 MW. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission extended the operating licenses of these plants for an additional 20 years in 2003.
The company operates seven large-scale reactors at four sites: Millstone in Connecticut, North Anna and Surry in Virginia, and Summer in South Carolina.
The company has more than 4.5 million customers in 13 states. The company’s HQ offices are in Richmond, VA. The firm has a market capitalization of just over $43.5 billion.
In May 2017 the NRC granted Dominion a COL for a 1,535 ESBWR but in September 2017 the utility elected not to proceed with construction due to cost issues and competition from natural gas. As the license is good for 20 years, the utility could plausibly revisit the construction decision at some future date.
Virginia Governor Endorses the Utility’s Business Strategy
The company announced the news about the RFP at an event at North Anna. Company leaders were joined at the event by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, Virginia State Senator Dave Marsden, Virginia State Senator Mark Peake and Louisa County Board of Supervisors Chair Duane Adams, among other local and state leaders.
“The Commonwealth’s potential to unleash and foster a rich energy economy is limitless,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “To meet the power demands of the future, it is imperative we continue to explore emerging technologies that will provide Virginians access to the reliable, affordable and clean energy they deserve. Small nuclear reactors will play a critical role in harnessing this potential and positioning Virginia to be a leading nuclear innovation hub.”
“For over 50 years nuclear power has been the most reliable workhorse of Virginia’s electric fleet, generating 40% of our power and with zero carbon emissions,” said Robert M. Blue, Chair, President and CEO of Dominion Energy. “As Virginia’s need for reliable and clean power grows, SMRs could play a pivotal role in an ‘all-of-the-above’ approach to our energy future.
The company also announced that it intends to seek rider recovery of SMR development costs in a filing with the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) expected in the fall. This important step was enabled by bipartisan legislation passed by the Virginia General Assembly earlier this year. Governor Youngkin ceremonially signed the legislation at the event, where he was joined by its chief patron Senator Marsden.
The legislation contains cost caps limiting current SMR development cost recovery to no more than $1.40 per month for a typical residential customer. The company anticipates that its initial request will be substantially below that limit.
Competition for LWR Type SMRs
While the official press release did not list the companies contacted by the utility about the RFP, a short list would likely include all US firms offering LWR type SMRs. All of these firms have also submitted bids in the UK SMR competition.
- NuScale; 6 units at 77 MW each or 462 MW
- Ge-Hitachi; 300 MW/unit
- Holtec; 300 MW/unit
- Westinghouse; 300 MW/unit
Competitive Standing of Potential Bidders – Light Water Designs
The success of any bid by a LWR SMR, regardless of supply chain issues, will include technology maturity, and, most important, the ability to obtain an NRC license following a safety evaluation of the design. Here are several examples of LWR contenders.
NuScale has a basket full of lessons learned from the termination of the UAMPS project in Idaho last year and no firm near-term prospects for contracts in the US or overseas for building a first of a kind 77 MW SMRs in a multi-unit configuration. The firm’s stock price was shredded by short sellers but has since been on an upswing. The stock price closed on Friday 07/12/24 at $15.34/share compared to a price of $2.04 on 01/01/24. The company will hold a 2nd quarter 2024 earnings call on 08/08/24.
In late May the firm had to clarify news media reports from South Korea about a deal potentially involving one of its suppliers, Doosan, a South Korean firm, apparently misunderstood communications from NuScale’s CEO following a site visit. Believing it has a firm commitment for a major deal for long lead time components, Doosan shared that information, prematurely it turns out, with a South Korean business news wire.
NuScale subsequently denied that it had inked a formal $1.4 billion contract for the long lead time components. In harsh a statement to South Korea news media a spokesman for for the firm called Doosan’s statement about the equipment contract “speculative.” Doosan’s stock price did spike upwards following the announcement. However, Doosan is one of South Korea’s major heavy industry manufacturers with developments in many of its product lines affecting its stock price. Since then NuScale has made no statements about the deal.
According to previous press statements by Doosan and NuScale, in 2019, Doosan initially invested $44 million in the US company. In 2021, the South Korean company invested an additional $60 million into NuScale. In return it secured a right to build key SMR equipment, including RPVs, for the US firm. Doosan also constructed a dedicated factory in Changwon, Korea, to build the equipment.
NuScale’s data center deal for up to 24 SMRs, 12 in Ohio and 12 in Pennsylvania, has yet to be funded, but it could be a great leap forward for the firm if the firm’s investors, and its potential customer, make good on their agreements in principle.
NuScale has an NRC license for its 50 MW design and is engaged with the NRC to license the uprated 77 MW version. The NRC accepted the license application for the 77 MW design in August 2023. According to a press statement from NuScale, the NRC committed to a 24 month review schedule.
Holtec has committed to build two SMRs at the Palisades reactor site in Michigan. The timeframe for accomplishing this objective is uncertain. The firm earlier this year announced that it was upgrading the power rating for its LWR type SMR from 160 MW to 300 MW. Holtec is working on restarting the Palisades reactor.
In terms of NRC licensing for the SMR, many of the topical reports submitted so far for the previous 160 MW design will have to be revised. The firm does not have a date, via a regulatory engagement plan with the NRC, to submit a license application. Once it does submit one, the NRC is on the hook to complete the licensing review in 25 months, based on recently passed legislation signed by President Biden known as the “Advance Act.”
Assuming Holtec is able to submit an application within the next three years, e.g.,by 2027, it will be 2029 at the earlist before it can obtain the NRC license and break ground, and two to three years later for first of a kind (FOAK) SMRs to enter revenue service.
The GE Hitachi BWRX300 has made significant progress in Canada at the Ontario Power Generating Darlington site where preliminary non-nuclear construction is underway. The reactor project for Darlington completed Phases 1 & 2 of the pre-licensing Vendor Design Review process at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission but has a laundry list of open items that it must address before proceeding to submit a license application in Canada.
GE Hitachi also has a companion deal with TVA to build multiple SMRs at the utility’s Clinch River site. The NRC web page, updated in April 2024, for the BWRX300 doesn’t list a planned license application date.
BWXT has a 17 MW SMR under development and has a project underway to assess its engineering and financial feasibility for a customer in Wyoming. Phase two of the contract includes completing conceptual design of a lead microreactor unit, developing a regulatory engagement plan and microreactor fleet model, and demonstrating the Wyoming supply chain’s ability to manufacture nuclear components. Like several other reactor developers, BWXT has a cost-shared ARDP contract with DOE.
Competitive Standing of Potential Bidders – Advanced Designs
While Dominion has documented its interest in LWR type SMRs in its IRP, that doesn’t necessarily mean that advance designs, or micro reactors, are out of the running.
Natrium, which is a 345 MW sodium cooled advanced reactor, has postponed its startup date to 2030 due to problems getting HALEU fuel. With backing by from Bill Gates and other investors it may meet that milestone or within a year or two depending on first of a kind issues and securing the needed uranium metal fuel.
X-Energy, which is developing an 80 MW HTGR, has an agreement in principle to build four of its units at a DOW chemical manufacturing plant in Texas. Like the rest of the competition, except for NuScale, it does not yet have a license from the NRC nor has it committed to a date to apply for one.
Kairos The firm crossed a major milestone in December 2023 when the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a construction permit to Kairos Power for the Hermes demonstration reactor at its Tennessee site under 10 CFR Part 50. An operating license will be needed to actually commission an completed commercial scale, not a non-nuclear demonstration prototype, in order to offer it to customers. The firm signed an agreement in February 2024 with DOE that will provide it with $303 million under a fixed price milestone contract (ARDP program). The design is a 140 MW molten fluoride salt advanced reactor.
Terrestrial Energy, originally a Canadian developer of a 190 MW advanced molten salt reactor that runs on low enriched uranium fuel, just moved its operations to Charlotte, NC. The firm has MOUs for development of its reactors in four Canadian provinces – Alberta, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Saskatchewan. It is promoting its plant as being suitable for generating heat and power for customers.
Do Micro Reactors Have a Shot?
It isn’t clear how much generating capacity Dominion is seeking from SMRs. For that reason the prospects for microreactors are included here. There are about a dozen or so other microreactor projects in various stages of early development. Here are a few examples.
Oklo, which last year upgraded its micro reactor design from from a base unit at 15MW to an option for 50 MW, told investors in May 2024 that it faces several years of engagement with the NRC to obtain a license for its sodium cooled advanced reactor. Oklo failed in its first attempt to obtain a license from the NRC based on the original smaller design.
Oklo went public in May via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) and received $306 million in gross proceeds from the transaction. According to Reuters, a target of building its first small modular reactor (SMR) by 2027 at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Oklo has secured a site use permit at INL from the DOE. Oklo has signed an agreement with the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative at the DOE Piketon Site for its second and third commercial plants.
Project Pele is a 1-5 MW transportable reactor concept being designed for military use and which may have commercial spin-offs but only after successful deployment by the US Army. The military will be the initial customer for the design selected to be built to power domestic military bases. It isn’t known how fast a commercial spin off would be available once the selected reactors(s) are deployed and in use at defense installations. DOD has selected designs from BWXT and X-Energy for further evaluation and testing of prototypes.
Ultra Safe Is developing a 4-15 MW TRISO fueled micro reactor. The firm has developed a proprietary fuel package for it. The ‘Fully Ceramic Micro-encapsulated (FCM)’ fuel is composed of TRISO particles, which contain enriched fuel and the radioactive byproducts of fission within layered ceramic coatings. Together they are encased within a densed silicon carbide matrix. Ultra Safe describes the combination as providing “an extremely rugged and stable fuel with extraordinary high temperature stability.”
In its promotional materials on its website the firm refers to the micro reactor as a “nuclear battery – Multiple MMR units can power communities in the middle of nowhere, large industrial sites, and cities.”
In May 2021, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) submitted to the NRC a Letter of Intent to submit an application for a construction permit for a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor. The proposed research reactor would be based on technology developed by Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation, and would utilize TRISO particle fuel, helium gas coolant, and graphite moderator.
The reactor would be located on UIUC’s campus in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, and would have a molten salt secondary loop providing electrical power conversion capability for campus use.
In August 2022 the University of Illinois submitted a regulatory engagement plan to the NRC. As of April 2024 the firm has submitted a series of topical technical reports, but does not have a date for submission for a license application.
In December 2022 Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation and Portland Holdings Investco Limited, a privately held investment firm based in Burlington, Ontario, Canada, announced that they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to advance Ultra Safe Nuclear’s Micro-Modular™ Reactor (MMR) energy systems.
Under the terms of the agreement, Portland, its affiliates, and related entities will invest up to $350 million in Ultra Safe Nuclear, aiming to bring MMR technology solutions to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and the Caribbean regions.
Aalo is an Austin, TX, startup that is seeking to commercialize the INL Marvel SMR design. It plans to build multiple units in Idaho. It has bright prospects but also a very long way to go. The firm announced this month that it has submitted a regulatory engagement plan to the NRC. Aalo’s efforts to commercialize its design driven by the former chief project manager from INL who is now an Aalo principal.
The firm’s ambitions are to build seven independent Aalo-1 reactors in Idaho, potentially expanding to an additional seven reactor units. The firm says it plans to submit a license application in 2026. It has plans to have the first units in revenue service by 2029.
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SMR Developers Submit Bids for UK Funding
(WNN) The UK aims to grow nuclear energy capacity to 24 GW by 2050, with a mix of traditional large-scale power plants and SMRs. It will need robust public/private partnerships composed of government funding and investor commitments to attain this goal. Also, the government will need to focus on deploying SMRs in fleets of units in order to obtain the promised cost savings from factory manufacturing of the reactors.
Last year, the Great British Nuclear (GBN), a unit of the IK government set up to help deliver that extra capacity, began the selection process for which SMR technology to use.
In October 2023, EDF, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH), Holtec, NuScale Power, Rolls-Royce SMR and Westinghouse were invited to bid for UK government contracts in the next stage of the process. EDF has since withdrawn from the bidding.
This month the five SMR developers submitted their proposals for funding. All of them are light water designs.
Background of the GBN Competition
In an interview earlier this year for the World Nuclear News podcast, GBN Chairman Simon Bowen said the planned timeline was for the SMR selection shortlist to be cut to around four after the submission of responses to the tender, with the goal of placing contracts by the end of the year with two or three technology providers.
This would be for co-funding the technology all the way through to completion of the design, regulatory, environmental and site-specific permissions process, and the potential to place a contract for the supply of equipment. Each selected technology would have an allocated site with the potential to host multiple SMRs. The aim is then for a final investment decision to be taken in 2029.
It is not yet clear what impact the July 4th change of government in the UK might have on the selection process, although the in-coming Labor Government has been pro-nuclear energy and said in its election manifesto it would “end a decade of dithering that has seen the Conservatives duck decisions on nuclear power.
Bowen said, “We will ensure the long-term security of the sector, extending the lifetime of existing plants, and we will get Hinkley Point C over the line. New nuclear power stations, such as Sizewell C, and small modular reactors, will play an important role in helping the UK achieve energy security and clean power while securing thousands of good, skilled jobs.”
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US Exim Bank Said to Be Ready to Fund AP100 Reactors in Bulgaria
- Ready To Provide Funding’ For Kozloduy Project, Says Minister
- Sofia planning to build two Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactor units at site
(NucNet) The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Exim Bank) has expressed its readiness to provide more than $8 billion in funding for Bulgaria’s plans to build two new Westinghouse-made AP1000 pressurized water reactor units at the existing Kozloduy nuclear power station, according to the country’s caretaker energy minister Vladimir Malinov. He said that the proposal was part of a letter of interest the Bulgarian energy ministry received from the Exim Bank.
Last month, a Bulgarian delegation was in Washington to meet Exim Bank officials as reports emerged that the bank would start work on the structuring of financing for the proposed AP1000 new-build project at Kozloduy with the aim of meeting a mid-2025 deadline set by parliament.
Sofia expects Kozloduy-7 to be ready around 2035 with a second plant two years later. Former minister of energy Rumen Radev has said Bulgaria would like the cost of the two-unit project to not exceed $14 billion. At 1,100 MW each, the combined 2,200 MW would cost about $6,400/Kw.
Malinov said that the next year will be “key” for the Kozloduy project, including efforts on the design, structuring of the financing and the business model for the project “so that within the fourth quarter of 2025 a final investment decision can be made and the construction permit can be issued”.
US-based Westinghouse was selected in 2023 to provide its AP1000 PWR technology for Kozloduy-7 and -8. In early 2024, Sofia chose South Korea’s Hyundai E&C as the EPC for the construction, delivery and eventual commissioning of the proposed plants.
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South Africa Sets Plans for 2,500MW Nuclear Power Station
South Africa’s Energy Minister, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, plans to unveil details by August 2024 for a new 2,500MW nuclear power station. The project aims to utilize advanced technology for efficiency and environmental benefits, potentially including small modular reactors. Ramokgopa highlighted Eskom’s likely operational role, emphasizing competitive and cost-effective procurement processes.
Ramokgopa told the South African Sunday Times that a team was in the advanced stages of finalizing the procurement structure for the new build project. The minister explained that the procurement process would require approval from National Treasury, which the team was hoping to attain before the end of August 2024. The procurement process would also involve a tendering procedure which is “fair, equitable, transport, competitive, and cost-effective.”
The government previously named Thyspunt near Jeffreys Bay in the Eastern Cape as one of the possible sites for a new nuclear power station.
South African has had a rough time getting its nuclear program house in order. It prior efforts to ink an eight reactor deal with Rosatom ended did not pan out. Eskom’s perilous financial condition continues to be a challenge for any successful deployment of reactors of any size.
Legacy and Future of the PBMR Reactor
Among the latest innovations in nuclear technology that Ramokgopa could be alluding to, according to press reports, are small-scale nuclear reactors, including pebble-bed modular reactors (PBMRs). Eskom once had a PBMR development program which ran from 1994 to 2009. The project was shut down due to issues related to technical feasibility related to power generation and a lack of funding. Key staff involved in the program have continued development of PBMR technology at X-energy in the US which is developing an 80 MW HTGR.
In 2023 South African venture capitalist André Pienaar’s C5 Capital said it was leading a consortium raising private funding to build a PBMR in the Western Cape.
The planned reactor would reportedly consist of four 80MW units providing a combined 320MW of power. The consortium is conducting a feasibility study, after which it could enter formal discussions with Eskom over its plans.
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AtkinsRéalis to Design Fusion Plant for Type One Energy
(WNN) Fusion energy developer Type One Energy has selected Canadian engineering firm AtkinsRéalis to develop the pre-concept design for its Fusion Pilot Plant, which will use stellarator technology to demonstrate its potential to generate clean, safe and affordable power from fusion energy.
AtkinsRéalis said its UK-based fusion team will work alongside US capabilities and expertise to provide multi-disciplinary engineering services, to develop the full plant requirements, pre-conceptual facility designs, and a preliminary site layout. Working in close collaboration with Type One Energy, AtkinsRéalis will integrate established project delivery solutions alongside novel fusion technologies, seeking to de-risk the delivery of the fusion plant while optimizing cost.
In February, Type One Energy announced plans to build Infinity One, its stellarator fusion prototype machine, at Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Bull Run Fossil Plant in Clinton, TN.
The project is the result of a tri-party memorandum of understanding signed in 2023 between TVA, Type One Energy and the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in which the partners expressed an interest in the successful development and commercialization of economic and practical fusion energy technologies.
The construction of Infinity One could begin in 2025, following the completion of necessary environmental reviews, partnership agreements, required permits, and operating licenses, Type One Energy noted. It will allow the company to verify important design features of its high field stellarator Fusion Pilot Plant, particularly those related to operating efficiency, reliability, maintainability, and affordability.
Type One Energy’s Infinity One is a stellarator fusion reactor – different to a tokamak fusion reactor such as the Joint European Torus in the UK or the ITER device under construction in France. A tokamak is based on a uniform toroid shape, whereas a stellarator twists that shape in a figure-8. This gets round the problems tokamaks face when magnetic coils confining the plasma are necessarily less dense on the outside of the toroidal ring. ITER recently announced it won’t fire up until the end of the 2030s or later.
Type One Energy said it “applies proven advanced manufacturing methods, modern computational physics, and high-field superconducting magnets to develop its optimized stellarator fusion energy system.”
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- Source: https://energycentral.com/c/ec/dominion-opens-door-smrs-north-anna