Federal funding agreed for NuScale

[FBaggins]

In December, DoE selected NuScale under a second SMR funding opportunity which will see the DoE invest up to half of the cost of developing, licensing and commercialising the reactor.

The DoE and NuScale have now officially signed a contract agreement for the funding, which calls for NuScale to receive up to $217 million in matching funds over five years. The funds will come from the DoE's total pot of $452 million earmarked for technical support of SMR licensing. Industrial partners will be expected to at least match the DoE's investment.

NuScale said that it will use the funds to perform engineering and testing needed to proceed through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) design certification process. It expects to submit it application for this in the second half of 2016. NuScale believes that its first planned project in Idaho, in partnership with Energy Northwest and Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, could begin commercial operation by 2023.

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NuScale's SMR is a 45 MWe self-contained pressurized water reactor and generator set, which would be factory made and shipped for deployment in sets of up to 12 to make scalable nuclear power plants with capacities from 45 MWe to 540 MWe. Using conventional fuel assemblies, the core would be cooled by natural circulation, requiring fewer components and safety systems than conventional reactors.

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-Federal-funding-agreed-for-NuScale-2905144.html