Carbon Free Power Project
– What People Are Saying
Idaho National Laboratory learned on Nov. 8, 2023, that the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) and NuScale Power Corporation (NuScale) have mutually agreed to terminate the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP). This project called for the construction of a NuScale Power small modular reactor power plant on the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) INL Site. As these organizations decide on the next steps for the project, we remain hopeful about the future of the many other advanced reactor projects INL is involved in.
NUCLEAR ENERGY PROJECT IN IDAHO IS CANCELED
By Ivan Penn and Brad Plumer, The New York Times
A developer of small nuclear reactors announced on Wednesday that it was canceling a project that had been widely expected to usher in a new wave of power plants.
NuScale Power, a company in Portland, Ore., said it lacked enough subscribers to advance the Carbon-Free Power Project, which had been expected to deliver six of the company’s 77-megawatt reactors. Although more than two dozen utilities had signed up to buy electricity from the reactors, which would be in Idaho, that number fell short of what NuScale said it needed to move forward.
The Carbon-Free Power Project was the result of an agreement between NuScale and Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, which supplies electricity to public power providers in seven Western states, including California. The project was first proposed in 2014.
UTAH JUST LOST AN IMPORTANT FUTURE ENERGY SOURCE. HERE’S WHY
By , Deseret News
The Carbon Free Power Project pursued by the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems to deliver nuclear power as a base load energy source to some Utah municipalities and districts and others is officially dead.
The Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems and NuScale announced they have mutually agreed to terminate the project.
Despite significant efforts by both parties to advance the project, the two said it appears unlikely it will have enough subscription to be viable.
BIDEN’S OTHER NUCLEAR OPTION
By Boyce Upholt, Mother Jones
As part of his plan to shift the United States to 100 percent clean energy by 2050, President Joe Biden has targeted further investment in small modular nuclear reactors like NuScale’s.
But are these investments worth the money—and the risks? New designs or not, nuclear plants face daunting issues of waste disposal, public opposition, and, most of all, staggering costs. But whether nuclear is a real part of the solution for climate change —or just a long-shot bid to keep a troubled industry alive—is a debate that will come to the fore in the short window we have to overhaul the nation’s energy portfolio.
A NUCLEAR SOLUTION FOR CLIMATE, ENERGY AND WATER
By Matt Wald, NEI
Around the United States and the world, DEMAND FOR CLEAN ELECTRICITY is growing. SO ARE WORRIES ABOUT WATER. As rainfall patterns shift, many places in the world are going to need new sources of water to mitigate climate change. The water is for all purposes, including electricity generation, and the job should be done in a way that does not make the environment worse.
A new nuclear project in Idaho is addressing all these issues at once with a pioneering dry cooling system.
PLAN TO BUILD 1ST SMALL US NUKE REACTORS IN IDAHO ADVANCES
By Keith Ridler, Associated Press
A plan to build the nation’s first small modular nuclear reactors to produce commercial power is a step closer to being realized.
PLANNED SMALL NUCLEAR PROJECT REACHES MILESTONE WITH MORE UTAH CITIES SIGNING ON
By Amy Joi O’Donoghue, Deseret News
Enough communities in Utah and elsewhere have agreed to purchase nuclear power from a small modular reactor planned at the Idaho National Laboratory, triggering a next phase in its development.
Participating members in the Carbon Free Power Project signed contracts that total more than 150 megawatts, which means there will be an increased focus on site characterization and preparing a license for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
NUSCALE’S SMALL MODULAR NUCLEAR REACTOR — RELIABLE, RESILIENT AND FLEXIBLE
By James Conca, Forbes
Many new nuclear start-up companies have emerged, even fusion seems to be moving along, and governments like Canada, China and the United States are spurring the development of Small Modular Reactors.
SMALLER, SAFER, CHEAPER: ONE COMPANY AIMS TO REINVENT THE NUCLEAR REACTOR AND SAVE A WARMING PLANET
By Adrian Cho, Science
Advocates say nuclear reactors, compact and able to deliver steady, carbon-free power, are ideal replacements for fossil fuels and a way to slash greenhouse gas emissions.
NUSCALE OFFICIALS: SMALL MODULAR REACTOR PLANT SLATED FOR DESERT SITE WILL BE A ‘WORLDWIDE SHOWCASE’
By Paris Achen, Post Register
A plan to build the nation’s first small modular reactor plant at the desert site west of Idaho Falls could put eastern Idaho on the map on a global scale, according to NuScale Power, the creators of the technology.
UAMPS CEO CITES CUSTOMER INTEREST, FALLING COSTS FOR IDAHO NUSCALE SMR PROJECT
By Jeff Beattie, The Energy Daily
The head of the large western public power utility leading the nation’s most advanced small modular reactor project claims he has strong enough interest from government and private customers to subscribe almost four NuScale SMRs planned for the Energy Department’s Idaho National Laboratory, with additional interest from several investor-owned utilities in the West.
THE NEXT NUCLEAR PLANTS WILL BE SMALL, SVELTE, AND SAFER
By Daniel Oberhaus, Wired
A new generation of reactors will start producing power in the next few years. They’re comparatively tiny—and may be key to hitting our climate goals.
