Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Before we head off into the weekend, here are some other stories that RadWaste Monitor was tracking from across the civilian nuclear power space this week.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week granted regulatory approval to NuScale Power’s small modular reactor design, the agency said Thursday in a Federal Register notice.
The final rule certifying NuScale’s design, a small-scale light-water reactor, is set to go into effect Feb. 21, the agency said Thursday. It is the first advanced reactor design to receive NRC approval.
According to Portland, Ore.-based NuScale, its VOYGR-12 small modular reactor design can generate 924 megawatts of energy while taking up less space than similarly powerful wind or solar generating sites. The reactor is fueled with standard light-water reactor fuel NuScale has said.
Nebraska’s largest electric utility last week announced that it would begin exploring possible sites to build small modular reactors in the state, according to a press release.
Under the new siting effort, Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) will conduct a statewide study “to determine the 15 best locations for siting small modular reactors based on geographic data and preliminary licensing criteria,” the company said in a Jan. 13 statement. A second assessment will narrow the potential reactor host candidates down to four, NPPD said.
The utility is conducting its siting study thanks to around $1 million in competitive funding for such a program greenlit as part of legislation signed into law in April by Gov. Pete Ricketts (R). NPPD’s bid was approved Jan. 6 by the state’s economic development department.
Nuclear services company NAC International announced this week that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had approved an updated overpack design for its spent fuel canisters.
With NRC’s approval, NAC International can move forward with its new cask configuration, “further expanding its ability to securely and efficiently store spent nuclear fuel,” the company said in its Thursday press release.
The overpack configuration for NAC International’s metal spent fuel storage casks “enables users to implement a more compact storage facility and reduce the associated facility costs,” the company said.
