23 July 2021
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Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) now expects to build six 77 MWe NuScale Power Modules on a site at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), rather than 12 units as previously planned. A 2030 start-up date for the plant - known as the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) - is still envisaged.
How a NuScale SMR plant could look (Image: NuScale)
The CFPP, launched by UAMPS in 2015, was initially envisaged as a 12-unit power plant using 50 MWe NuScale Power Modules. The capacity of the NuScale module - a pressurised water reactor with all the components for steam generation and heat exchange incorporated into a single unit - has since been uprated, firstly to a 60 MWe version and then, in November last year, to 77 MWe per module. UAMPS said it would evaluate options for power plant size - the so-called 4-pack, 6-pack, 8-pack or 12-pack module configurations - to ensure the best overall way to meet the needs of its members.
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A project to build a first-of-its-kind nuclear reactor in Eastern Idaho has been significantly downsized.
The initial plan for the Carbon-Free Power Project was to build 12 interconnected miniature nuclear reactor modules to produce a total of 600 megawatts. It would be the first small modular reactor in the United States.
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After the company tasked with manufacturing the plants said it could make the reactors more power-efficient, planners reduced the project down to six module reactors that could produce 462 MW total.
âAfter a lot of due diligence and discussions with members, it was decided a 6-module plant producing 462 MW would be just the right size for (Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems) members and outside utilities that want to join,â said LaVarr Webb, UAMPS spokesman.