Is NuScale Headed for Collapse? – GWC Mag

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NuScale Power [NYSE:SMR], the nation’s most mature purveyor of small modular nuclear power plants, has lost its only valid customer, raising doubts about the Oregon company’s continued existence. The company announced Wednesday (Nov. 8) that Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) has cancelled its contract for the “Carbon Free Power Project” after being unable to attract enough cities in the joint action agency’s territory to participate.

Artist depiction of the failed UAMPS-NuScale project

The UAMPS project, years in development, would have seen construction of six of NuScale’s 77-MW small pressurized water nuclear reactors, generating some 462 MW of power. The project has seen the price tag of its power output climbing over the years, from an initial quote of $59/MWh to $89/MWh. That led some of the initial cities that agreed to buy the power to back out and the project failed to attract new participants. Originally scheduled to come online in 2026, the target date had slipped to 2029.

Fortune magazine quoted NuScale CEO John Hopkins, “Once you’re on a dead horse, you dismount quickly. That’s where we are here.”

 

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