Good news despite being reported by the Epoch Times.
US Certifies First Small Modular Nuclear Reactor Design for Use
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has certified the design for the first American-designed small modular nuclear reactor (SMR).
The NRC issued its final ruling in the Federal Register on Jan. 19 to certify the emissions-free small modular reactor by the Oregon-based NuScale Power, which will take effect on Feb. 21.
The final determination prevents the SMR from being legally challenged when a utility applies to build and operate a nuclear power plant in the United States, NRC spokesman Scott Burnell told CBS News last week.
NuScale’s power module is the first SMR design certified by the NRC and the seventh reactor design cleared for use. Previously approved designs were the traditionally large, light-water reactors.
The newly approved SMR is an advanced 50-megawatt, small light-water design capable of providing the “nation with a new clean power source to help drive down” greenhouse emissions across the country, said the Department of Energy (DOE).
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Each of NuScale’s small power modules is about the third of the size of a traditional reactor design, which is based on a concept developed at Oregon State University in the 2000s.
A single VOYGR SMR power plant would be able to house up to 12 of these power modules. Its compact size would also allow each module to be placed almost anywhere, including a floating version that could be placed on a barge to regions facing power shortages.
“SMRs are no longer an abstract concept,” said Kathryn Huff, assistant secretary for nuclear energy, in a press statement.
“They are real, and they are ready for deployment thanks to the hard work of NuScale, the university community, our national labs, industry partners, and the NRC.”
“This is innovation at its finest, and we are just getting started here in the United States,” she boasted.
The DOE’s design certification is a historic step toward an emissions-free environment, making the SMR manufacturer’s VOYGR power plant a near-term reality for the energy sector, Diane Hughes, NuScale’s vice president of marketing and communications, told CBS News.
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