Up to 12 Xe-100 Small Modular Nuclear Reactors planned for Washington State.

[NNadir]

Multiple Xe-100 SMRs planned for Washington State

A joint development agreement (JDA) has been signed between US utility Energy Northwest and X-Energy Reactor Company for the deployment of up to 12 Xe-100 small modular reactors (SMRs) in central Washington State. Energy Northwest expects to bring the first Xe-100 module online by 2030.

The agreement defines and details the scope, location, and schedule under which the commercial development of the project will move forward. The companies will also work together to determine the best approaches to licensing and regulatory matters, as well as the project delivery model.

Energy Northwest owns the Columbia Generating Station in Richland, Washington, which is the only commercial nuclear power plant in the region. Under the JDA, the Xe-100 project is expected to be developed at a site controlled by Energy Northwest adjacent to the Columbia plant.

The Xe-100 is an 80 MWe (scalable to a 320 MWe four-pack) high-temperature gas cooled reactor which uses TRISO (tristructural isotropic) particle fuel. It can integrate into large, regional electricity systems as a base and load-following source of carbon-free power, and can optimise grid use of low-emission, intermittent renewables and other clean energy resources, X-energy says. It can also support industrial applications with 200 MWt output per unit of high pressure, high temperature steam.

In May, industrial giant Dow selected its UCC Seadrift Operations manufacturing site in Texas for X-energy's first deployment of the Xe-100 as part of the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). X-energy was awarded USD1.2 billion from the DOE in 2021 under the ARDP in federal cost-shared funding to develop, license, build and demonstrate an operational advanced reactor and fuel fabrication facility by the end of the decade. Dow and X-energy plan to submit a construction permit application to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission with the aim for construction work to begin in 2026.

The first commercial deployment of the Xe-100 had previously been expected to be a four-unit plant near Energy Northwest's Columbia nuclear power plant in Washington, which has mandated 100% carbon-free electricity by 2045...

I am not overly familiar with this design, but it seems to be a Brayton type system, meaning that the reactors are capable of forming multiple missions beyond the production of electricity. While I doubt the exit temperatures are high enough to drive thermochemical water splitting, this kind of system can certainly drive dry reforming of organic wastes and/or biomass as a means of purely negative carbon capture for use.

The utility in multiple process intensification procedures is supported by Dow's interest in the reactors.

It's good news for slowing climate change.

[flying rabbit]

1. As maligned as nuclear has been in the past

I think it might have to be part of the solution

[NNadir]

2. It's not "part" of the solution. It's the only solution that will work.

If we don't go nuclear against climate change, we don't do anything effective to address climate change.

It's starkly clear.

All of the other crap proposed has proved to be useless, expensive, ineffective, and fossil fuel dependent except possibly destroying river systems with dams.

Climate change is making dams subject to unreliability.

[Think. Again.]

4. oh come on now,

...even the manufacturer suggests using these SMR's as augmentation to solar and wind. From the article:

"...and can optimise grid use of low-emission, intermittent renewables and other clean energy resources, X-energy says."

[walkingman]

3. I think it has to be part of our solution in our fight against climate change.

[honest.abe]

5. I like the idea of these small modular units.

Seems more likely to make a difference rather than massive new nuke plants.

[NNadir]

6. Ultimately it would be nice to serially 3D print these in an assembly...

...line.

The process is well underway at Oak Ridge National Laboratory; several small reactor cores have been printed.

The cores may be designed for flexible use.

My son's Ph.D. program is focused on this idea. (He's just getting his feet wet.)

It may be possible to build hundreds of reactors per year to meet many missions now consigned to the use of fossil fuels.

One mission not being carried out is a remediation role. I have actually convinced myself that we can run powerplants possibly in a multiple mission setting - process intensification - that actually cleans rather air or water.

Small mass produced reactors are ideal for the purposes .