June 25, 2012

By ANA's Nonproliferation Policy Director, Tom Clements

When it comes to “small modular reactors” (SMRs) at the Savannah River Site (SRS), does the left hand know what the right hand is doing?  An overly enthusiastic media push for SMRs at SRS, under the guise of a ill-defined project called "Enterprise SRS," appears to conflict with lack of plans for SMRs by the electric utility which serves the SRS area.

 

According to the required “Integrated Resource Plan” (IRP) recently filed with the South Carolina Public Service Commission by South Carolina Electric and Gas (SCEG), which provides a large area of South Carolina with electricity, there are no plans between now and 2026 to deploy small modular reactors.  Yet, in spite of that of formal submission, officials from SCE&G and the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS) have been publicly stating that SCE&G is involved in plans related to deployment and operation of SMRs at SRS.  So, is SCE&G formally involved in SMR’s or not?

 

In response to the contradictory positions, the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability has made a formal filing with the Public Service Commission requesting that SCE&G be required to amend its IRP to explain exactly what the truth is related to SMRs, which now only exist on paper.  Given the push by SMR vendors to secure a $450 million DOE subsidy to be awarded to two SMR vendors in September, it’s no surprise that the public relations push to secure the subsidy just might be ased more on speculation than substance.

 

Click here to see the June 22, 2012 filing by ANA, posted on the SC PSC website on June 25.

Click here to see the “South Carolina Electric & Gas Company's Integrated Resource Plan (IRP),”