The Cancelation of First Small Nuclear Reactor Project in the US
The construction of nuclear power plants tends to go over budget and run years over schedule in most industrialized countries, making the idea of small, modular nuclear reactors an attractive alternative. However, on Wednesday, the company and utility planning to build the first small, modular nuclear plant in the US announced it was canceling the project.
Small modular reactors offer potential cost-cutting measures, including their smaller size and passive cooling systems that can take over in the case of power losses. The US had approved a design for a small, modular nuclear reactor developed by NuScale Power, with plans to construct the Carbon Free Power Project. However, due to declining renewable energy prices, the project’s economics worsened, leading backers to withdraw their support.
As a result, the Carbon Free Power Project no longer had enough utility partners, leading to its cancellation. NuScale’s CEO expressed optimism by stating that the work on the project had advanced their technology to the stage of commercial deployment. Nevertheless, the canceled project has cast uncertainty on whether the company can build any commercial reactors before the decade ends.
In the broader context, the future of nuclear power in the US is also uncertain. With no large reactors planned and the last few projects canceled or plagued with budget overruns, the future of nuclear power in the US appears unclear. While other reactor designs are being considered for separate projects, none have cleared the approval hurdle by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.