Dominion Energy of Virginia is looking to build a small modular reactor at the North Anna plant, north of Richmond.
RICHMOND, Va., July 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ – Dominion Energy Virginia today announced it has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) from leading SMR nuclear technology companies to evaluate the feasibility of developing an SMR at the company’s North Anna Power Station in Louisa County, Va.
While the RFP is not a commitment to build an SMR at North Anna, it is an important first step in evaluating the technology and the North Anna site to support Dominion Energy customers’ future energy needs consistent with the company’s most recent Integrated Resource Plan.
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If a new nuclear project is going to happen somewhere in the US, this is one way the process could start.
Dominion already has a combined construction and operating license (COL) to build an ESBWR at North Anna. The COL was approved in 2017, but the company has never started work. With this latest RFP, it looks like Dominion is trying to downsize the project with a smaller plant.
Since they were previously planning to build a General Electric- Hitachi (GEH) ESBWR, the GEH BWRX-300 probably has the inside track for a new SMR project for Dominion. The BWRX-300 is just a smaller, simpler version of the ESBWR. However, Dominion’s existing large plants at North Anna are Westinghouse PWRs, so Westinghouse’s AP-300 will probably be looked at as well, assuming Westinghouse submits a proposal. I could also see NuScale submitting a proposal for their SMR, since NuScale’s first project in Idaho fell through.
It will be interesting to see which companies submit proposals, and how the selection process goes. There is still a long way to go before construction starts, but this is a promising first step.
- Pete