BWXT to build first NuScale reactor
NuScale Power has selected BWX Technologies (BWXT) of Virginia to begin engineering work to manufacture its small modular reactor (SMR).
83 companies from 10 countries have been vying for the project over the past 18 months. NuScale picked BWXT as the best firm to refine its design for manufacturing, assembling and transporting the SMR design.
The technology is the first and only SMR to undergo Design Certification review by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It is the United States’ front-runner in the SMR race, which the Nuclear Energy Agency believes will be a $100 billion market by 2035.
That market is a competitive one. NuScale said it is competing with other countries, including Russia and China in the global commercialization of SMR technology. The sale of SMR’s could have a significant impact to both the American economy and manufacturing jobs market.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is scheduled to approve NuScale’s Design Certification application in September 2020.
Its first customer will be Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems. That group is on track to deploy the country’s first SMR plant on federal land west of Idaho Falls in the mid 2020’s.
According to the company, NuScale Power is developing a new modular light water reactor nuclear power plant to supply energy for electrical generation, district heating, desalination, and process heat applications. This design features a fully factory-fabricated module capable of generating 60 MW of electricity using a safer, smaller, and scalable version of pressurized water reactor technology.
A NuScale power plant can house up to 12 individual power modules, offer the benefits of carbon-free energy and reduce the financial commitments associated with gigawatt-sized nuclear facilities.
