NuScale ends Utah project, in blow to US nuclear power ambitions
2023.11.08 20:47
By Timothy Gardner and Manas Mishra
(Reuters) -NuScale Power said on Wednesday it has mutually agreed with a municipal power group in Utah to terminate the company’s small modular reactor project, dealing a blow to U.S. ambitions for a new wave of nuclear energy and sending NuScale’s shares sliding 20% in extended trading.
NuScale has received $232 million from the U.S. Department of Energy since October 2020. It had planned to develop the six-reactor 462 megawatt Carbon Free Power Project with the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) and launch it in 2030, but several towns pulled out of the project as costs rose.
It was expected to be the first small modular reactor (SMR) to win a license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for building and operating an SMR plant. But NuScale said it appeared unlikely the project will have enough subscription to continue toward deployment.
NuScale said in January the target price for power from the plant was $89 per megawatt hour, up 53% from the previous estimate of $58 per MWh, raising concerns about customers’ willingness to pay.
An Energy Department spokesperson said it was unfortunate news, but added, “We believe the work accomplished to date on CFPP will be valuable for future nuclear energy projects.
“While not every project is guaranteed to succeed, DOE remains committed to doing everything we can to deploy these technologies to combat the climate crisis and increase access to clean energy,” the spokesperson said.
Existing U.S. nuclear plants, which are larger, provide nearly half of the virtually carbon-free power generated in the U.S.
SMRs are meant to fit new applications such as replacing shut coal plants and being located in remote communities.
Backers have said the design was safer than today’s reactors, but critics have said SMRs still produce hazardous nuclear waste.
So far, only NuScale’s SMR design has been approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John Hopkins, NuScale’s president and CEO, said in a release that the company will continue with its other domestic and international customers to bring American SMR technology to market and increase the U.S. nuclear manufacturing bases.
The public U.S. money for NuScale was awarded through a non-competitive funding vehicle that came before the energy and climate bills passed during the Biden administration.
