Options for smaller units also confirmed A computer-generated image of a NuScale SMR power plant. Courtesy NuScale. Advanced testing and modelling have shown that a Generation IV small modular reactor being developed by US-based NuScale Power can generate an additional 25% more power per module for a total of 77 MW per module (gross), resulting in about 924 MW for the flagship 12-module power plant.

NuScale said the development would significantly lower the overnight capital cost of the light-water SMR technology on a per kilowatt basis from an expected $3,600 to approximately $2,850.

It said the 25% increase in power means a 12-module plant will now approach a size that makes it a competitor for the gigawatt-size market.

The company also announced options for smaller power plant solutions in four-module (about 308 MW) and six-module (about 462 MW) sizes.The smaller sizes will give NuScale customers more options in terms of size, power output, operational flexibility, and cost. They will also have a smaller footprint.

The new, smaller options will allow NuScale to support a larger cross-section of customer needs including power for small grids such as for island nations, remote off-grid communities, industrial and government facilities and replacement of coal-fuelled generation.

The US Department of Energy recently approved a multi-year cost-share award to a new entity named Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP), owned by Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (Uamps), for the development and construction of a 720-MW NuScale nuclear plant comprising of 12 60-MW SMRs at the DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory site.

Eight of the original 36 public utilities that had signed on to help build the facility have backed out of the deal, but Uamps said recently the project is “still very much going forward”.