Local officials are exploring the viability of a small modular reactor (SMR) at the Denver International Airport campus.
Denver International Airport has issued solicitations to conduct an SMR feasibility study, according to the airport’s Wednesday press release. The study is expected to cost up to $1.25 million and could take six to 12 months to complete, according to the press release.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington made the joint announcement, saying an SMR supports Denver’s energy goal of being 100% carbon free by 2050.
Denver International Airport has been planning for a future of over 120 million passengers annually by 2045, according to the press release.
“As we work to make DEN [Denver International Airport] the greenest airport in the world, we must explore every innovative solution available to meet the demands of a growing city and a changing climate,” Johnston said in the release. “Studying the potential of small modular nuclear reactors is a forward-looking step in understanding how we can deliver reliable, clean energy at scale.”
While airport management is interested in exploring nuclear power for its location, Johnston said at a Wednesday press conference Denver is still taking an “all of the above non-fossil fuel energy strategy,” and will not key in solely on nuclear energy.
Despite SMRs garnering a lot of interest in the United States, as of August, there have been no deployments of the advanced nuclear reactor. There are only two SMRs in operation, one in China and another in Russia, according to the Paris-based Nuclear Energy Agency.However, there are 74 SMRs globally under development, with 27 of them being in the United States.