First planned small nuclear reactor plant in the US has been canceled, despite massive subsidy...but it is not from 'renewables dropping' (see comments)

submitted by SoCo from arstechnica.com

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[–]Zapped 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

The article said it was cancelled due to low subscriptions. That sounds like they couldn't get partners who own and maintain the infrastructure to get the electricity out to the customers. That could be because they want to maintain their own local monopolies. These small power plants are probably similar to those used on nuclear-powered ships.

The main reason we don't have more nuclear plants in the U.S. is because of Federal regulation. The plant has a lifespan set and they could only apply for one extension, until recently. The rules and regulations for new construction of these have changed to prohibit more from being built, unintentionally or not.

[–]SoCo[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

The Nov 2020 article by the same writer, clarifies that jumping ship from investing in the project was due to the very tight financial feasibility of the project and the difficulty it has competing with natural gas.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/11/first-major-modular-nuclear-project-having-difficulty-retaining-backers/

That article also mentions that the US Department of Energy had planned on fully buying the reactor to be build on the Utah power group (UAMPS)'s site, having their national lab run and evaluate it, then eventually giving it to UAMPS. But now it seems the US Department of Energy, instead, plans on contributing $1.3B (or $1.4B depending on where you read) over 10-years to stimulate the new technology's development. Arstechnica additionally suggest, "that would be dependent upon annual renewals of the funding by Congress during that decade, which is yet another risk."

https://www.powermag.com/shakeup-for-720-mw-nuclear-smr-project-as-more-cities-withdraw-participation/

What it doesn't mention clearly, however, the crucial detail that this dumping ship from the project really ramped up after the project declared that it would be 3 years behind schedule and costs would climb an extra $1.8B (to $6.1 billion)!

https://www.science.org/content/article/several-us-utilities-back-out-deal-build-novel-nuclear-power-plant

The 2020 Arstechnica article suggests the 3 year schedule delay, and I'd assume the cost increase with it, rose due to the project needing to be larger to be worthwhile:

"Separately, to reach a target price for the power that is expected to be competitive with natural gas, the project has been made larger and its completion delayed by three years."

My Conclusion:

...so it sounds like this will likely push forward one way or another, despite the friction and paltry federal investment. At worst, the technology's roll out will take about another decade or so to get going, due to the extra costs of being a new technology, devastated economy, and the technologies need to mature to become financially competitive with cheaper alternatives (still mostly natural gas) at a scale that doesn't cost too much.

On a related note:

My state of Illinois just has sent a bipartisan plan to approve a mini-reactors funding plan in the state. It has passed the House, the Senate, and has been sent to our fat-ass Governor Pringles to sign. The bill's critics (AP suggests they are"environmentalists") seem to complain that the technology is a decade or more from being ready, but the bill's sponsors suggest that makes the timing perfect, as the "federal permitting process [could take] as much as eight years".

https://saidit.net/s/Illinois/comments/bt0a/illinois_senate_approves_plan_to_allow_new_mini/

[–]In-the-clouds 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

This is good news for those of us that don't want more toxic radioactive waste dumped on us.

[–]frankjohnson 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

The cancellation of the first small, modular nuclear plant in the US, the Carbon Free Power Project, raises concerns about the future of nuclear power in the country. The project faced economic challenges amid dropping renewable energy prices.