Saturday, September 07, 2013

SAFE, SIMPLE, SMALL, AND ECONOMICAL NUCLEAR POWER

NuScale Power has created a new kind of nuclear plant, a smaller, scalable version of pressurized water reactor technology, designed with natural safety features.

Each NuScale Power Module generates 45 megawatts of electrical power. Additional modules can be added, providing scalability as electricity demand grows. This gives customers with smaller power requirements economical, reliable, and carbon-free power in their portfolio. NuScale's 160MW thermal output also makes it a perfect fit for process heat and steam applications, such as refining, desalination, and district heating.

NuScale Reactor Diagram
The NuScale plant uses natural forces to operate and cool the plant. This eliminates the need for many of the large and complex systems required in today’s nuclear plants. This simplicity allows the NuScale Power Module to be factory-built and transported to site. This makes NuScale plants faster to construct, and less expensive to build and operate.

NuScale’s was conceived in the early 2000’s by NuScale co-founder Dr. Jose Reyes after completing tests for the Westinghouse AP600 and AP1000 nuclear plants in support of their design certification. Dr. Reyes believed that he could eliminate many of the complex systems found in conventional PWRs while simultaneously improving safety and reducing the cost of construction, operation, and decommissioning.

The U.S. Department of Energy provided initial funding for the development of this concept. Over a decade later, NuScale has advanced Dr. Reyes' ideas to the point where a one-third scale test facility has operated since 2003, proving the technical viability of the design and leading to the commercialization of an innovative modular, scalable nuclear power technology.

NuScale is currently completing the design of an SMR that offers the benefits of nuclear power while eliminating the issues presented by installing a large power plant. Each NuScale Power Module produces greater than 45 MWe with its own designated turbine-generator set.

NuScale power plants are scalable. Additional modules can be added as customer demand for electricity increases. A single plant can include as many as 12 modules to produce at least 540 megawatts. These multi-module plants are highly reliable at a projected >95% capacity factor. One unit can be taken out of service for refueling or maintenance or a new unit can be added, without affecting the operation of the others.

NuScale is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. Our technical team (i.e., design, engineering, licensing, testing, operations, and project management) is located in Corvallis, Oregon.

NuScale is majority-owned by Fluor Corporation, one of the world’s leading companies in the engineering, fabrication, procurement, and construction markets.       (NuScale Power)

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