Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Energy, Inc., has signed a letter of intent with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) that defines the project plans and associated conditions for designing, licensing and constructing up to six B&W mPower small modular reactors (SMRs) at TVA’s Clinch River site in Roane County, Tennessee.
Generation mPower LLC (GmP), a majority-owned subsidiary of Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Energy, is a company formed by affiliates of B&W and Bechtel Power Corporation to design, license and build the world’s first commercially viable Generation III++ small modular nuclear power plant based on B&W mPower SMR technology.
GmP remains on track to deploy the first B&W mPower reactor by 2020 at TVA’s Clinch River site. The B&W mPower Integrated System Test facility in Virginia is expected to begin a three-year project later this summer to collect data to verify the reactor design and safety performance in support of licensing activities. TVA plans to submit a Construction Permit Application to the NRC in 2012, and GmP plans to submit a Design Certification Application to the NRC in 2013.
* mPower small reactor, a 125 MW LWR design that is still being completed on the drawing boards in Lynchburg, VA.
* The reactor will use 5% enriched uranium in fuel rod assemblies which are similar in design to those used in 1,000 MW plants.
* At a hypothetical price of $3,000/Kw, a single unit would cost $375 million
* First units could be received by customers by 2018 and that the reactor can can be shipped by truck and rail to a customer site and installed below grade by skilled trades without complex training.
Reactor type: Integral PWR Power: ~125MWe, ~400MWt Reactor coolant: less than 14mpa (2000psia), ~600K (620F)core outlet Steam conditions: less than 7MPa (1000psia), superheated Reactor vessel diameter: ~3.6m (12ft) Height: ~22m (70ft) Fuel assemblies Sixty-nine 17x17, uranium dioxide Height: ~half of standard fuel assembly Fuel assembly pitch: 21.5cm Active core height: ~200cm Core diameter (flat to flat): ~200cm Fuel inventory: less than 20t Average specific power: ~20kW/kgU Core average fuel burnup: less than 40GWd/tU Target fuel cycle length: ~5 years Maximum enrichment: less than 5% Reactivity control: Control rods Other features: No soluble boron, air cooled condenser,spent fuel stored in containment for 60 year design life
Previously TVA was evaluating the feasibliity in Nov 2010
If you liked this article, please give it a quick review on ycombinator or StumbleUpon. Thanks
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.