The implementation of nuclear energy in the United States would not be something new, given its current presence in the country. A clear example would be the presence of the company Georgia Power (branch of Southern Company), with the Vodtle Plant, in Georgia. However, it does draw attention that NuScale Power is willing to invest in a $9 million reactor.
How is it different from existing ones? Because its format can be replicated in factories, reducing the cost and eliminating transport. The energy infrastructure of the United States must bet and is betting on an energy transfer to a production sector that makes use of clean energies, with the objective of reducing the emission of CO2 and any pollution parameters to the atmosphere.
NuScale Power
This is a US company active in the design and marketing of small modular reactors. It was founded in 2007, and after years of hard work, it has become one of the most environmentally conscious factories. Their modular nuclear reactor designs are gaining popularity as they are considered the perfect alternative to fossil fuels. Currently, it has a highly attractive but also expensive proposal, so it is still in the development phase.
The US460 reactor
Why has there been such a stir around this new design? It appears that NuScale Power has in its hands the final design of a small modular nuclear reactor which could be the most desired, efficient and effective. With the objective of eliminating fossil fuel from the current scenario, it is a reactor with the potential to produce 77 megawatts per module and up to 462 megawatts per plant. Needless to say, all this generated energy would be clean and safe. What makes it so special?
The fact that it can be replicated in other factories, eliminating transport and reducing costs, is an attraction to which few companies can resist. According to the company ““NuScale’s enhanced design features the same fundamental safety and passive safety features previously approved by the NRC, with increased power and select design changes to support growing capacity needs”.
Obstacles along the way
If this new design lives up to all its promises, why aren´t we being provided its energy? Well, the reality is that this design is still in development. It hasn’t even been built yet. You have received the necessary bureaucratic approval, but you will not be able to move forward if you do not have a client who wants to implement your service. It’s not the first time NuScale has faced such a setback. In 2023, it partners with several Utah municipalities to launch the Carbon Free Project, with $1.35 billion in federal grants. What happened? The costs were increasing and the partners were withdrawing, causing its cancellation.
Light at the end of the tunnel
Not everything went wrong for NuScale this time. With his new project he has chosen to partner with the company Entra1, which already owns the global commercial rights for this technology. Five other major companies in the sector have taken an interest and the reactor may soon be set up in the United States. Despite of the good news, we all now that money is what makes the world go round. According to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), we would be talking about an investment of $9 million, in which absolutely all the phases of the process are included; construction, infrastructure and operating costs.
This is why companies are still not deciding, and continue to compare them with other renewable energies, such as solar or wind. In fact, Japan (as always) has already taken a step in the direction of solar energy, creating a super panel that generates the same energy as 20 nuclear reactors combined. In this way, it is betting on a clean energy and that, unlike nuclear, does not raise suspicions about its final storage.
