- Advanced nuclear gaining more support at federal and state levels
- Idaho legislature passes tax incentives for siting NuScale SMR at INL
- EPRI study says advanced reactors viable across range of scenarios
The drumbeat on the progress being made in the development and eventual deployment of advanced nuclear reactors, amply heard during last week’s Nuclear Innovation Week, continues with the passage of several legislative measures in Congress and in statehouses and demonstrates the depth of support that these innovative technologies enjoy across the country.
In a remarkable show of bipartisan consensus, the Senate last week passed by unanimous consent the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act (NEICA) (S 97), a bill designed to speed advanced reactors to market. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee also approved the Advanced Nuclear Energy Technologies Act (S 1457), which supports advanced reactor demonstration projects.
One of the NEICA bill’s chief sponsors is Sen. Michael Crapo (R-Idaho). Idaho—along with surrounding states in the Mountain West—is on the frontier of making the first of the new nuclear technologies a reality. Oregon-based small modular reactor developer NuScale Power LLC in January 2017 filed with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission the first ever design certification application for a small modular reactor (SMR), moving the company and its consortium partners closer to construction of the nation’s first SMR facility at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL).
The plant will be owned by interstate public power entity Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) and operated by Washington state-based utility Energy Northwest. It is expected to begin commercial operations by 2026. Two of the twelve SMR reactors to be built at INL could be used for research and development to advance SMR and similar technologies.
Among other things, the NEICA bill establishes an advanced nuclear energy licensing cost-share grant program that could be used by UAMPS. This follows Congress’s extension last month of nuclear production tax credits that also would be available for the UAMPS project. In ongoing budget negotiations, the nuclear industry also expects Congress to continue the Title XVII Loan Guarantee Program that could help finance of the project.
Meanwhile, a groundswell of support for the NuScale/UAMPS project has quietly been emerging in the states involved. Last week the Idaho Legislature moved on a pair of bills intended to provide tax incentives for the deployment of advanced reactors in the state. HB 591 seeks to modify existing tax exemptions for new capital investments, including for “fixtures constructed off site by installed on site,” as would typically be done for small modular reactors. HB 592 amends the sales tax exemption for research and development activities conducted at INL.
Both bills passed the Idaho House and Senate with overwhelming support last week and will be presented to Gov. C.L. Otter for signature.
“Idaho is leading the nation in making it possible to wean the utility sector away from fossil fuel-based electrical power generation. Idaho is also leading the nation in providing the basis for research and development associated with SMRs for other applications outside of the utility sector. UAMPS is pleased to be part of an impressive team working to make carbon-free energy available to our members and their customers at a competitive price,” UAMPS Chief Executive Officer and General Manager Doug Hunter says.
“The State of Idaho has moved expeditiously to establish an atmosphere in our state for the success of advanced reactor development at INL and in the promotion of public-private partnerships like that with DOE, UAMPS, and NuScale,” Idaho Falls Mayor Rebecca Casper said.
We believe strongly in the future of advanced reactor technology and hope we can continue this momentum in other states and on a national level. It is imperative that our national labs and the private sector maintain a global leadership position in the development of emerging nuclear technologies.
Casper is a leading member of Otter's Leadership in Nuclear Energy (LINE) Commission, which has been a strong advocate for the development of advanced nuclear technologies. Hunter and Casper were both panelists at Third Way’s Advanced Nuclear Summit last week.
“We are encouraged that states are taking action to recognize the value that nuclear energy provides and the need to add more nuclear energy in the United States,” NEI President and CEO Maria Korsnick added.
“The nuclear industry is rapidly developing small modular reactor and other advanced reactor designs, some of which could begin operation before 2030. These advanced reactors can provide tremendous benefits for the U.S., not just through resilient clean baseload electricity, but also through flexible operations that integrate with renewables, operations in remote communities, and providing heat and other products for industrial uses.”
EPRI: Advanced Reactors Can Be Economically Viable
Advanced nuclear technology is not evolving in a vacuum. Last week, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) weighed in on the question of the economic viability of advanced nuclear in a fast-evolving U.S. marketplace.
Among the changes buffeting the industry is the U.S. shale gas revolution that shows no signs of abating, while the installed capacity of solar and wind renewables continues to grow. Meanwhile, other low-carbon energy sources are innovating as well, with advances being made in dispatchable renewables, carbon capture and sequestration, battery storage, and even “clean coal.”
EPRI analyzed a range of scenarios allowing an assessment of the relative importance of different cost, revenue and policy factors to the future deployment of advanced nuclear reactors.
The EPRI study suggests that advanced nuclear could be economically viable across a range of scenarios. A combination of reduced capital costs, favorable policy conditions such as carbon pricing, and additional revenue streams for other services and products—such as process heat, hydrogen production and district heating—will favor the significant deployment of advanced nuclear reactor technology, EPRI says.
The report aligns with earlier studies issued by the Energy Innovation Reform Project and industry consortium SMR Start that also found that advanced reactors, including SMRs, are economically viable.
The industry has invested more than $1 billion to date to develop advanced nuclear reactors. The EPRI report reaffirms what many in the industry already believe; that nuclear energy has a bright future.