The cleanest and safest source of electric power is finally makingh some progress. NuScale Power’s application was for the small modular reactor that Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems plans to build at a U.S. Department of Energy site in eastern Idaho.
According to reports:
“The small reactors can produce about 60 megawatts of energy, or enough to power more than 50,000 homes. The proposed project includes 12 small modular reactors. The first would be built in 2029, with the rest in 2030.
“The modular reactors are light-water reactors, which are the vast majority of reactors now operating. But modular reactors are designed to use less water than traditional reactors and have a passive safety system so they shut down without human action should something go wrong.”
Small nuclear reactors have been used on US Navy ships and submarines since the USS Nautilus was commissioned in 1954. An advantage of the modular design is the ability to produce standardized reactors under controlled conditions. And a passive safety system reduces human error in operation.