The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy has unveiled a new effort to add 2,500 megawatts of nuclear power to the grid by 2027 through uprates to existing plants and restarting some closed reactors.
The Utility Power Reactor Incremental Scaling Effort (UPRISE) program aims to bring 2,500 megawatts of additional power by 2027 and 5,000 megawatts by 2029, according to DOE Office of Nuclear Energy’s March 12 press release.
Through the initiative, DOE will focus on extending reactor’s operations through license renewals, boosting plant’s generating capacity through uprates and bringing shuttered plants back online with new technology and advanced fuel.
DOE said the near-term effort comes from advances in industrial manufacturing and power generation.
Later this year, DOE’s Offices of Nuclear and Energy Dominance Financing, formerly the Loan Programs Office, will hold workshops to facilitate agreements between plant operators and end users. The Energy Dominance Financing office has previously supported projects such as the Palisades restart and Vogtle Units 3 and 4.
The former Three Mile Island restart, now known as Crane Clean Energy Center, is the latest project to secure a loan from DOE.
According to the release, DOE’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing has more than $289 billion available in loan authority. The subagency can also provide up to 80% financing for eligible costs associated with nuclear uprate projects, DOE said.