Modular reactor pioneer NuScale finally got one of its designs certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, but the company is still years away from a deployment.
NuScale’s unprecedented design approval is a good reason for stakeholder celebration — but the company isn’t out of the woods just yet. It’s already had to revise its projected project costs and hit a regulatory snag.
NuScale has an agreement to build a first-of-its-kind 462-megawatt project in Idaho with Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS), a group of 50 municipal utilities across seven Western states. Higher materials costs, interest rates and inflation have already forced NuScale to raise its projected cost from $58 per megawatt-hour to $89 per megawatt-hour; UAMPS’ project management committee approved the cost increase earlier this month.