NuScale Power, UAMPS execute agreements tied to development of small modular reactors

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 11, 2021

NuScale Power on Jan. 11 announced together with Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) that it has executed agreements to facilitate the development of the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP), which will deploy NuScale small modular reactors (SMRs) at the Idaho National Laboratory.

The CFPP will be comprised of nuclear power modules to be provided by NuScale. Electricity from the plant will be distributed to customers of 33 UAMPS member utilities in five states. Other western utilities are expected to join the project in the future.

The SMRs in the project will provide the flexibility to ramp up and down as needed to follow load and complement intermittent renewable supply.

Established in 1980, UAMPS is an energy services interlocal agency of the state of Utah. As a project-based consortium, UAMPS provides a variety of power supply, transmission and other services to its 47 members, which include public power utilities in six western states: Utah, California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Wyoming.

Pursuant to the initial orders from UAMPS, Fluor Corporation and NuScale — as a subcontractor to Fluor — are to develop higher maturity cost estimates and initial project planning work for the licensing, manufacturing and construction of the CFPP.

The orders are the result of recently signed agreements to manage and de-risk the development of the CFPP. These include the Development Cost Reimbursement Agreement between UAMPS and NuScale, and the $1.355 billion multi-year financial assistance award from the U.S. Department of Energy to CFPP LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of UAMPS established to develop, own and operate the CFPP.

In addition, UAMPS and Fluor have signed a cost-reimbursable development agreement to provide estimating, development, design and engineering services to develop the site-specific cost estimates for deployment of the NuScale technology at the Idaho National Laboratory site.

Concurrently, UAMPS will continue to evaluate the size of the NuScale power plant as Fluor refines the engineering of alternatives to ensure that the plant is the best overall cost of energy and size to meet the CFPP participants’ subscription needs.

“The orders executed today allow for important progress in the development of the Carbon Free Power Project, and we are excited to take this next step alongside our partners NuScale Power and Fluor Corporation,” said Doug Hunter, UAMPS’ CEO and General Manager. “We are confident that NuScale’s small modular reactor will deliver affordable, stable, carbon-free energy to participating members, complementing and enabling large amounts of renewable energy in the region.”

The NuScale power plant will be located at the DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory site near Idaho Falls, Idaho.

NuScale’s SMR became the first and only design to ever receive approval from the NRC in August 2020.

NuScale and UAMPS expect that the initial orders will address the final step in the regulatory process to proceed with plans to build a NuScale Power Plant as they plan for and develop the Combined License Application (COLA) for the CFPP.

The UAMPS COLA is expected to be submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by the second quarter of 2023.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission review of the COLA is expected to be completed by the second half of 2025, with nuclear construction of the project beginning shortly thereafter.