America’s biggest government utility is getting some extra federal help in developing and planning for the possibility of building the next generation of flexible, advanced nuclear reactors.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Tennessee Valley Authority last week signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly evaluate how to develop, build and operate small modular reactors, which TVA is considering building near ORNL in Oak Ridge.
Under the agreement, ORNL and TVA will collaborate on ways to improve the economic feasibility of potentially licensing, building, operating and maintaining one or more advanced nuclear reactors, such as a small modular reactor, at TVA’s 935-acre site on the Clinch River.
TVA gained approval in December from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for an early site permit in Oak Ridge where DOE planned on building a breeder reactor in the 1970s until then President Jimmy Carter scrapped the project over concerns about nuclear proliferation.
“We are combining our world-leading research capabilities and TVA’s operating expertise to accelerate the next generation of cost-effective nuclear power,” ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia said in a statement announcing the latest agreement. “Nuclear has long been a key component of the U.S. energy portfolio, and growing demand for emission-free electricity requires that we innovate to ensure safe, affordable and efficient nuclear power for generations to come.”