NuScale Power announced on 27 November that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Canada’s Bruce Power to develop a business case to introduce NuScale’s small modular reactor (SMR) technology to the Canadian market.
The announcement follows a MOU that NuScale signed earlier this month with Ontario Power Generation for support in its vendor design review with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC).
NuScale is developing a new modular light water reactor for electrical generation and process heat applications including district heating and desalination. Nuscale says the SMR features a fully factory-fabricated NuScale Power Module capable of generating 60MW of electricity. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission is scheduled to complete NuScale’s Design Certification application in September 2020.
Through the new agreement, Bruce Power will support evaluation, planning and licensing activities, all of which will help to demonstrate the business case for NuScale’s technology as the right choice for Ontario and Canada. Work will include studies on the impacts of deployment of a NuScale plant in Ontario, feasibility studies for proposed SMR sites, and other risk evaluation exercises to show the benefits of SMR deployment.
“Bringing NuScale’s safe, scalable, economic and carbon-free reactor to Canadian customers makes sense both from an energy and business perspective, and we are thrilled to have the support of leading power generator Bruce Power as we make this case,” commented NuScale Chairman and CEO John Hopkins. “Bruce Power’s expertise in managing nuclear plants as a private company adds additional valuable experience as we move into the Canadian market.”
In May 2018, Bruce Power, which provides 30% of the power delivered in the Province of Ontario, and the County of Bruce announced a partnership to establish the Nuclear Innovation Institute (NII). This will be an international centre of excellence for applied research and training, which will evaluate applications for new nuclear technologies including Small Modular Reactor (SMRs).
The majority investor in NuScale is Fluor Corporation, a global engineering, procurement, and construction company with a 60-year history in commercial nuclear power.
Photo: The NuScale power module (Credit: NuScale)
