US Dominion Energy Virginia has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) from leading small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear technology companies to evaluate the feasibility of developing an SMR at the North Anna Power Station in Louisa County.
Although the RFP is not a commitment to build an SMR at North Anna, it is a first step in evaluating the technology and the North Anna site in the context of the company’s most recent Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). Dominion has not published details of the RFP, “but it’s safe to say we’ve invited the world’s leading SMR technology companies to participate,” said Dominion spokesperson Aaron Ruby.
The company announced news of the RFP at an event in which Company leaders were joined by Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, Virginia State Senator Dave Marsden, Virginia State Senator Mark Peake and Louisa County Board of Supervisors Chair Duane Adams, among other local and state leaders.
“For over 50 years nuclear power has been the most reliable workhorse of Virginia’s electric fleet, generating 40% of our power and with zero carbon emissions,” said Robert M Blue, Dominion Energy Chair, President & CEO. “As Virginia’s need for reliable and clean power grows, SMRs could play a pivotal role in an ‘all-of-the-above’ approach to our energy future. Along with offshore wind, solar and battery storage, SMRs have the potential to be an important part of Virginia’s growing clean energy mix.”
Governor Glenn Youngkin commented: “To meet the power demands of the future, it is imperative we continue to explore emerging technologies that will provide Virginians access to the reliable, affordable and clean energy they deserve. In alignment with our All-American, All-of-the-Above energy plan, small nuclear reactors will play a critical role in harnessing this potential and positioning Virginia to be a leading nuclear innovation hub.”
Dominion also announced that it intends to seek rider recovery of SMR development costs in a filing with the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) expected in the fall. This was enabled in bipartisan legislation passed by the Virginia General Assembly earlier this year. Governor Youngkin ceremonially signed the legislation at the SMR event. He has advocated for investing in the nascent industry for years. The governor’s state energy plan released in 2022 called for launching such a reactor within a decade. “We can’t build enough wind. We can’t build enough solar, in order to power the Virginia of the future,” he noted, “we need all of the above.”
In its most recent Virginia IRP, Dominion said it expects data centre capacity in its Virginia territory to increase from 2.7 GWe in 2022 to approximately 10 GWe in 2035, according to Data Centre Frontier. Dominion has connected 94 data centres in Virginia totalling more than 4 GWe of capacity since 2019 and plans to connect another 15 in 2024.
In addition to 19-24 GW of solar, approximately 3 GW of wind, up to 9 GW of gas-fired generation and up to 10 GW of energy storage, Dominion’s 2023 IRP proposes adding up to 4.8 GW of nuclear capacity by 2048.
“Our most recent Virginia IRP includes plans for the first SMR to be deployed in the mid-2030s, with several other units over the following decade,” subject to change “as technology, customer needs and other factors evolve,” Dominion spokesperson Ruby said. He added that a third large-scale reactor at North Anna “remains a potential option, but we don’t have any other plans for more traditional nuclear reactors in our flee”.
In 2017, The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved Dominion’s application to construct a third large reactor at North Anna, but Dominion suspended those plans later that year citing a challenging environment for traditional nuclear builds. Though the combined licence for North Anna 3 remains active, Dominion would need to apply for a separate licence to add an SMR at the site.
The North Anna site is currently home to two 944 MWe pressurised water reactors, which began commercial operation in 1978 and 1980. Their current licences expire in 2038 and 2040. Dominion applied to the NRC in 2020 to renew its operating licences for North Anna 1&2. If approved, the units would be cleared to operate to 2058 and 2060.
