nuclear-news

US company eliminated from race to build Britain’s first mini-nuclear plant.

NuScale Power will not proceed to the final round of the competition’s selection process

Executives at NuScale Power were told on
Wednesday afternoon that they had been eliminated from the small modular
reactor (SMR) design competition.

The decision by officials at Great
British Nuclear (GBN), a government agency, leaves four companies battling
to secure support for their proposed technologies: Rolls-Royce,
Westinghouse, GE-Hitachi and Holtec Britain. Those businesses will now
progress to the final stage of the process, which will see them submit
“final best offers” to the Government.

GBN is then expected to announce
two winners either late this year or early in 2025, with the companies then
awarded sites and funding.

Earlier this year, a sixth company, the French
state-owned energy giant EDF, effectively dropped out of the contest when
it decided not to submit a bid by the required deadline. A spokesman for
NuScale also confirmed the decision. He said the company had been told it
did not meet the criteria for the SMR competition as it had already begun
production of its reactors and did not need support getting to market.

The decision is a fresh blow to NuScale, which suffered another setback last
November when its $1.4bn (£1bn) project to build a plant for a Utah power
provider was cancelled amid spiralling costs. The Government has not yet
confirmed where the first SMRs will be built. However, GBN purchased sites
in Wylfa, on the Welsh island of Anglesey; and Oldbury, Gloucestershire,
earlier this year.

 Telegraph 25th Sept 2024

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/09/25/us-firm-eliminated-from-race-build-britain-first-mini-nuke/

September 29, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, UK