More SMR Woes: Oklo/Air-Force Cancellation

By Kennedy Maize -- December 12, 2023

Another small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) has seen a major contract in jeopardy, casting more doubt on the prospects for this highly-touted technology of the future. The online news service Alaska Beacon reports that the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has revoked an August Air Force preliminary decision to install an experimental Oklo micro reactor at Eielson Air Force near Fairbanks, Alaska.

The Defense Department logistics arm refused repeated requests for details and clarification of the cancellation of the Oklo project. The chance to build a small nuclear power plant at the Alaskan location drew interest from SMR vendors Oklo, BWXT, Westinghouse, NuScale Power, and Rolls Royce, among other interested energy parties at a meeting last year.

According to the Alaska Beacon, Seattle-based Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp.,…

NuScale: Small Reactors, Big Legal Problems

By Kennedy Maize -- December 5, 2023

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Small modular nuclear reactor developer NuScale Power, rocked by collapse of its only project and hammered by a freefall in its share prices, is facing another major threat. Boston-based law firm Block & Leviton announced Monday (Nov. 27) that it has filed a “class-action shareholder lawsuit in federal court, alleging the company ‘made materially false and/or misleading statements and failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business, operations, and prospects.’”

Those who have followed NuScale closely have known that the company’s deal with the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) was in trouble well before its cancellation announced Nov. 8. Just before UAMPS walked out of the deal to supply six 77-MW small modular reactors to serve cities in 16 western states, NuScale announced a deal with a company trying to develop data centers for crypto currency mining operations.…

Nuclear Go-Round: NuScale, Vogtle, Palisades

By Kennedy Maize -- October 17, 2023

Ed. note: Nuclear Power is a much talked about technology in the current climate debate. Electricity veteran Ken Maize of Quad Report provides an update on three current nuclear issues: a new, mysterious NuScale power agreement; Plant Vogtle legal restitution; and the recommissioned 805-MW Palisades plant in Michigan.

NuScale’s Mystery Deal

NuScale Power has landed a deal with privately-owned blockchain data center developer Standard Power to provide two planned data centers in Pennsylvania and Ohio, 924-MW each, with electricity from arrays of NuScale’s 77-MW VOYGR small modular reactors, 12 for each data center. NuScale’s partner ENTRA1 Energy has the exclusive rights to develop, manage, own and operate energy production plants powered by NuScale’s SMRs.

NuScale (founded 2007) and ENTRA1 created an exclusive global partnership in 2022 to commercialize NuScale’s small modular reactors (SMRs). …