The Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory is ready to proceed with installation of a small microreactor project capable of providing electric power for about 10 homes while providing the agency with the lab with a means of studying small reactor designs, DOE said in a Monday press release.
The design team for the Microreactor Applications Research Validation and Evaluation (MARVEL) microreactor is almost ready to start making components for the project after completing 90% of the final design package, DOE said in the press release.
The microreactor, which could be in operation in 2026, according to the release, should generate about 85 kilowatts of heat and 20 kilowatts of electricity.
Such extra small reactors could power remote Alaskan villages that now rely on diesel fuel, along with industrial applications that require high temperature heat and electricity, DOE said in the release.
DOE has been pursuing the project for a few years.
