SMR - First small modular reactor gets certification from U.S. nuclear regulator

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Friday it certified NuScale Power's ( NYSE: SMR ) advanced light water reactor design, making it the first small modular reactor design to be certified by the regulator and just the seventh reactor design cleared for use in the U.S.

The NRC rulemaking finalizing the design takes effect Febuary 21 and will allow applicants looking for NRC approval to build plants using NuScale's ( SMR ) technology to reference the SMR design in their future license applications.

NuScale's ( SMR ) reactor uses power modules that each can generate 50 MW of electricity; for comparison, the two new reactors at Plant Vogtle in Georgia are each rated at 1,250 MW.

NuScale's ( SMR ) first project with Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems has experienced a 53% increase in cost to $89/MWh, making it comparable to costs of large scale nuclear power, Keith Williams writes in an analysis posted recently on Seeking Alpha .

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