The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has extended the design certification for Westinghouse’s AP1000 large reactor until 2046, Westinghouse announced on Aug. 26.
NRC issued a final rule changing the durations of its design certifications, a regulatory approval of a complete nuclear power plant design, from 15 to 40 years.
Westinghouse’s AP1000, currently the only operating generation III+ large reactor, design certified by NRC, was subsequently extended with the decision, according to Westinghouse’s Aug. 26 press release. The AP1000 received its original design approval in 2006.
TerraPower, Utah Office of Energy Development and Flagship Companies have entered into a memorandum of understanding to explore deployment of a Natrium reactor in Utah.
Under the MOU, the three entities will jointly identify and analyze possible sites for the advanced nuclear plant, with the goal of establishing site recommendations by the end of 2025, according to TerraPower’s Aug. 25 press release.
A Natrium reactor is a 345-megawatt sodium fast reactor, with a molten salt-based energy storage system. The storage technology can boost the system’s capacity to 500-megawatts of power when needed.
X-Energy has announced an agreement with the Department of Defense, Defense Innovation Unit and Air Force to advance the development of a microreactor, the company announced Aug. 14.
The agreement supports the continued design and development for the Rockville, Md. based company’s XENITH under the Advanced Nuclear Power for Installation program, an initiative focused on accelerating deployment of microreactors to provide secure power at military bases.
XENITH is a high-temperature gas-cooled transportable microreactor with the capacity of 3 to 10 megawatts. The reactor is in the pre-application stages with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
