Bechtel, B&W unite on mini-reactor work

[FBaggins]

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — .Babcock & Wilcox Nuclear Energy Inc. and Bechtel Power Corp. have formed an alliance to design, license, and deploy a small modular nuclear power plant, the first commercially viable facility of its type in the world, a press release said. The reactor, known as a Generation III++ small modular nuclear, or SMR, power plant, would be based on technology known as B&W mPower.

Babcock & Wilcox Co. announced plans in June 2009 for a new class of mini-nuclear reactors to be built in North American factories and shipped by rail to generating sites, according to The Associated Press. The Tennessee Valley Authority was evaluating whether the scrapped Clinch River Breeder Reactor site in Oak Ridge might be a suitable location for a reactor.

Information released Wednesday said the 125-megawatt B&W mPower SMR development program has been under way for two years and "has already gained wide recognition for its substantial electric utility involvement, cost competitiveness and innovative design."

A 125-megawatt facility would be about one-10th the size of a conventional commercial nuclear reactor.




http://www.oakridger.com/news/x909209095/Bechtel-B-W-unite-on-mini-reactor-work

[XemaSab]

1. To put this in perspective

it's 20 times bigger than the largest solar thermal plant in California.