Small nuclear reactor design submitted for federal approval

An Oregon-based company is asking federal officials to approve its design for a small commercial nuclear reactor that a Utah energy cooperative wants to build in eastern Idaho.

NuScale Power in a statement says it delivered to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission late last week a 12,000-page application for its small modular reactor, starting a review process expected to take more than three years.

The company says it’s the first small modular reactor commercial design submitted to the commission.

Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems in August identified a 35-acre site at the 890-square-mile Idaho National Laboratory federal facility where it hopes to build the small reactor capable of producing 50 megawatts.

Officials say additional reactors could be built as power demands grow, with up to 12 reactors producing 600 megawatts.