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US DOE funds study of building advanced nuclear reactors in Puerto Rico

The U.S. Department of Energy is funding an $820,000 study to explore the feasibility of deploying advanced nuclear reactors in Puerto Rico as a possible solution to the island's energy problems.

The recently announced study is being undertaken by the Nuclear Alternative Project, or NAP, a nonprofit organization of Puerto Rican engineers in the U.S. nuclear energy industry who helped organize a meeting in October 2018 between nuclear developers and Puerto Rican officials.

In the wake of Hurricane Maria that wrecked the U.S. territory's power system in September 2017, Puerto Rican lawmakers are considering installing advanced reactors as part of an overhaul of the island's brittle power system and replacing its fossil fuel-fired generation fleet with cheaper, fuel-secured alternatives. U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry has advocated for the deployment of small modular reactors, or SMRs, on the island as part of this overhaul.

"As Puerto Ricans, what Hurricane Maria did was to intensify our desire to do something for Puerto Rico with a long-term impact," the NAP said in an email. "With this feasibility study, we want to see if, now with the advances in nuclear technology, Puerto Rico could benefit from the economic impact, resiliency and power that nuclear energy has."

A DOE official confirmed in a statement that its Office of Nuclear Energy is funding the study, which "will analyze potential markets and applications for advanced nuclear reactor systems, including SMRs and microreactors."

"We are only considering SMRs and microreactors," clarified the NAP. "Instead of applying one technology and assess it, we will be looking at the needs in [Puerto Rico] and then matching technologies that can align to those needs."

The NAP said a technical advisory board, chaired by a former executive director of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and composed of nuclear developers NuScale Power LLC, Westinghouse Electric Co. LLC, and GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy Inc., will assist with the study. NuScale's 60-MW, passively cooled SMR design is being reviewed by the NRC, the first SMR design to begin that process.

The study's main objective is to provide evidence-based responses to questions raised in Puerto Rico House Resolution 1189. Passed in November 2018 by Puerto Rico's House of Representatives, the resolution expressed interest in studying the viability of building SMRs and microreactors on the island.

The study will also assess the market conditions for SMRs and microreactors, the public's support for advanced nuclear technologies, and the views held by Puerto Rico's leaders and stakeholders. Amid ongoing efforts by lawmakers to privatize the island's sole utility, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, the study will also consider the financing, operation and ownership of future SMRs and microreactors.

Along with its advisory board, the study will be supported by a team of experts across the U.S. nuclear energy industry, including reactor vendors and suppliers, local Puerto Rican entities, the DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, engineering company Arup Group Ltd., law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, the University of Houston, the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, and the Nuclear Energy Institute lobbying group.

EXCEL Services Corp., a Rockville, Md.-based nuclear management consulting firm, is tasked with conducting the technology-neutral assessment and matching reactor designs to Puerto Rico's application needs, including potential uses for military bases and microgrids.

"It is our full intent to make sure that we are looking out for the best interests of the people of Puerto Rico,"EXCEL President and CEO Donald Hoffman said in an interview. "We are evaluating this to give them enough information and options so that they can make an informed decision about whether or not nuclear should be a part of an energy asset mix for the island of Puerto Rico."

Hoffman said the assessment aims to identify the "top two or three technologies" that would work best for Puerto Rico. A preliminary final report is due to be submitted to the DOE in December.