Gov. Nikki Haley, nuclear industry leaders highlight SMR technology
June 20, 2012
COLUMBIA, SC – June 19, 2012 – Governor Nikki Haley, Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin and nuclear industry leaders – including officials from Holtec International, SCE&G and Areva – highlighted the opportunity South Carolina has to develop Small Nuclear Reactor (SMR) Technology at Savannah River Site and bring jobs and manufacturing to the state during a Tuesday press conference.
Video of the event, including the governor’s remarks about what this means for South Carolina, is available here: http://youtu.be/Wn3G4gXF8UQ
South Carolina ranks 3rd in Net Generation (52,902,576 Megawatt hours) of Nuclear Energy. Illinois and Pennsylvania are first and second, respectively. South Carolina produces nearly 6.7% of the country’s nuclear generated electricity. There are seven operating nuclear reactors at four nuclear power plants in South Carolina: Catawba in York County, Oconee in Oconee County, H.B. Robinson in Darlington County, and Virgil C. Summer in Fairfield County. The nearby Vogtle nuclear plants in Georgia and surrounding companies in and around Charlotte, helps place South Carolina in the center of the nuclear “renaissance” in the southeast.
South Carolina has a strong and long-standing history with nuclear, dating back to the 1950s when the Savannah River Site was constructed.
Holtec International is applying for a highly competitive funding program from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to design, license, and manufacture and commercialize American-made small modular reactors (SMR) – technology that will offer South Carolina a unique opportunity to become a leader in the next generation of nuclear reactor manufacturing. DOE SMR investment funds will be awarded to projects that have the most potential and promise to be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and achieve commercial operation by 2022. The cost-share agreements will span a five-year period and, subject to Congressional appropriations, provide a total investment of approximately $900 million, with at least 50 percent provided by private industry.
The SMRs represent a developing technology, one that is both scalable and exportable. These reactors can be manufactured in one place and then transported to a location that needs a power generation. The SMR technology is similar to the VC Summer plant but at a tenth of the scale, self-contained, and can be manufactured in a modular form.
