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NuScale Gains Potential Financial Backing for Worldwide SMR Deployment

May 5, 2019

NuScale Power, the front-runner in the race to commercialize small modular reactors (SMRs), has bagged another major backer that could broaden its nuclear supply chain base and expand its financial standing.

On April 29, NuScale signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction (DHIC), a South Korean–based engineering, procurement, and construction contractor with a wide global network, that supports deployment of NuScale’s Power Module worldwide. “The relationship includes DHIC, a member of the Doosan Group, and potential Korean financial investors, which, commensurate to final due diligence, plan to make a cash equity investment in NuScale,” NuScale said on Monday.

DHIC, which has an integrated manufacturing facility in Changwon, South Korea, that it says is “capable of raw material production to final assembly of nuclear components,” has supplied 32 nuclear reactor vessels and 114 steam generators for nuclear plants in South Korea, China, the U.S., and the United Arab Emirates.

A First-of-its-Kind Nuclear Project

Under the MOU, the companies will negotiate a strategic supplier agreement by July 2019 that would task DHIC with building a portion of the Power Module’s “most critical and complex” sub-assemblies for the plant that NuScale is developing for Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS), the companies said.…

EMP Threat Real but Limited, EPRI Says in Much-Anticipated Report

May 3, 2019

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Depending on the hazard field, electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) resulting from detonation of a nuclear weapon at high altitude or in space could cause significant damage to electronics on the bulk power system and even prompt a regional voltage collapse, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) says in much-anticipated findings from its three-year study on high-altitude EMPs (HEMPs).

However, the research does not support notions that a HEMP event could cause a crippling nationwide blackout that could last for many months to years, as some experts have warned for years, EPRI said.

EPRI’s April 30–released report is geared mainly toward asset owners and operators of the U.S. bulk power system, though it is also designed to inform regulators and policymakers. By furnishing the power sector with options for mitigating potential HEMP impacts that it identified, its primary aim is to help stakeholders make “more informed” decisions regarding the threat of a HEMP attack on the U.S. grid.

The findings come barely a month after President Trump signed an executive order to boost coordination for and national resilience against EMP threats—both from nuclear warfare and natural events like solar superstorms.…

Q&A With Geothermal Experts

May 1, 2019

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Geothermal energy has been around forever, used as a heating source across the world. Today it has surfaced as another renewable resource, with advancements in drilling technology bringing down costs and opening new areas to development.

In conjunction with the feature article on geothermal in the May 2019 issue of POWER, we sought opinions from a pair of leading experts in the sector: Will Pettitt, executive director of the Davis, California-based Geothermal Resources Council, and Torsten Rosenboom, a partner in the Frankfurt, Germany, office of global law firm Watson Farley & Williams LLP.

POWER recently interviewed Pettitt and Rosenboom to get their opinions about the future of geothermal energy:

What can we expect with regard to global growth in geothermal energy? Are there any regions where significant growth is expected?

Pettitt: Geothermal energy, I believe, has a really exciting and bright future. Geothermal power is a renewable energy that provides flexible baseload. It can provide the electricity grid with resiliency, reliability, and stability as we transition to more and more renewable fuels.…

POWER Notebook: Duke Energy Sells Renewable Assets in $1.25 Billion Deal

April 27, 2019

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Duke Energy this week said it has a definitive agreement to sell a minority interest in part of its commercial renewable energy portfolio owned and operated by its affiliate, Duke Energy Renewables, to the John Hancock Infrastructure Fund and John Hancock Life Insurance Company. Duke in an April 24 release said the interest is valued at about $ 1.25 billion.

Duke said the deal includes 49% of 37 operating wind, solar, and battery storage assets, and 33% of 11 operating solar assets across the U.S. John Hancock’s interest will represent about 1.2 GW of power generation capacity after the deal is closed. John Hancock will also have the right to acquire a minority interest in certain additional wind and solar projects in the future, providing a potential source of future growth capital to Duke Energy.

“We look forward to working alongside John Hancock as we continue providing clean and affordable energy to our customers across the country,” said Rob Caldwell, president of Duke Energy Renewables. …

Sempra Energy Exits U.S. Renewables Sector

April 25, 2019

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Sempra Energy on April 22 marked its complete exit from the U.S. renewables business as it completed the sale of 724 MW of operating wind generation and battery assets to American Electric Power (AEP) for $ 1.05 billion.

The San Diego–headquartered utility holding company, which says it has the largest U.S. customer base, said the move is consistent with a strategy to pay down debt and redeploy capital to support the growth of Sempra Energy in North America.

The transaction on Monday is the latest in a series of divestitures over the past year to raise $ 2.5 billion in proceeds. As Sempra Energy CEO Jeff Martin noted in a February fourth quarter earnings call, it stems from a “deep strategic process” led by the company’s board to exit fossil-fired generation as well as renewable generation that began as early as 2014.

“[I]t’s very important to make sure we’re doing all the right things to advance the clean energy transition, but it’s also important that we’re doing that in a way which is thoughtful around price, diversity of supply in a balanced energy program,” Martin said.…

The POWER Interview – Keeping Nuclear Power Viable

April 23, 2019

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Nuclear power in the U.S. and globally has battled headwinds in recent years, and not just from the growth of other power generation resources such as solar, wind, and natural gas.

Problems in the U.S. nuclear sector, such as construction delays and cost overruns at the Vogtle site in Georgia, the cancellation of the V.C. Summer project in South Carolina, and continued debate about where to store nuclear waste—not to mention the retirement or scheduled closures of several iconic U.S. nuclear plants—have dogged the industry.

The push toward carbon-free power, though, and government policies more favorable for nuclear have spurred research into new technologies. David Kropaczek, director for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Innovation Hub – Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL), recently spoke with POWER about nuclear power and what his group is doing in its research and development of nuclear technology.

POWER: Nuclear power faces several challenges in the U.S. What needs to happen to keep nuclear power viable in this country?…