Nuclear Energy – Basin Electric’s Team Evaluates

Currently, the world’s population is estimated to be 8.23 billion and is projected to reach 9.8 billion by 2050, according to data from the United Nations. This poses the question - how will the world provide clean, reliable and affordable energy to the masses? 

Nuclear energy appears to be an important piece of the puzzle, touting zero carbon emissions, high energy outputs, and reliability. Basin Electric’s Horizons Committee, a cross departmental team tasked with researching emerging technologies, is actively monitoring the developments in nuclear energy generation.

“The Horizons Committee completed a nuclear study with Sargent & Lundy to look at the status of small modular nuclear technology and to provide insight on the steps involved in nuclear generation siting and development,” said Kyle Weisbeck, supervisor of mechanical engineering and chair of the Horizons Committee. “The committee is also observing the development of TerraPower in Wyoming, as well as NuScale’s progress with their Voygr reactors.”

Special guest speaker Dr. Steven Aumeier, nuclear engineer and senior advisor for strategic programs at Idaho National Laboratory, recently shared perspectives on the deployment of advanced nuclear energy to the Basin Electric Board of Directors. Dr. Aumeier touched on several topics including the fundamentals of nuclear energy, and the drivers, risks, and opportunities available in the energy sector.

“The nuclear industry and nuclear startup companies are designing appropriately sized reactors,” said Dr. Aumeier. “Getting the appropriately sized reactors that are easy to manufacture and inherently safe, or safe because of the physics, is something that's really moving quickly and key to broadly affordable deployment and operation.”

Currently in the United States, 94 nuclear reactors are operating at 54 nuclear power plants within 28 states. Even with vastly improved safety measures and advancements in technology, nuclear is still challenging for companies to adopt.

“The biggest obstacle for Basin Electric expanding into nuclear energy generation is cost,” said Gavin McCollam, senior vice president and chief operating officer at Basin Electric. “Another hurdle is primary acceptance from communities, which we are being mindful of as we look into the possibility of adding this technology in the future.”

Licensing a nuclear facility is another challenge. The licensing process can take 10 to 15 years due to the strenuous safety, environmental, and regulatory requirements.

Even with these challenges, the Horizons Committee views nuclear as an important piece of the energy generation puzzle as the United States continues to move toward a carbon-constrained future.

 “Nuclear is a carbon-free generation technology that provides reliable baseload generation today and will continue to be an important generation asset in an all-of-the-above energy strategy in the future,” said Weisbeck.

“We're living through a new economic frontier,” said Dr. Aumeier. “In a world of 8 billion people, you need reliable energy in various forms. You need wind, solar, gas, and most certainly you need a lot more nuclear in that mix. Because we are facing this new frontier of economic competition, nuclear is going to be a key that helps the United States unlock that door.”

The Horizons Committee will continue observing developments in nuclear like TerraPower at the Naughton Power Plant in Wyoming, the thermal demonstration reactor being built by Karios Power in Oak Ridge Tennessee, and NuScale’s agreement to develop nuclear powered data centers in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

“The membership can be confident that we’re monitoring nuclear technologies,” said McCollam. “We know a lot more now than we did even five years ago, so we’ll be ready when the time comes to add nuclear into Basin Electric’s portfolio.”