Washington State energy provider Energy Northwest has signed an agreement with Bellevue-based utility Puget Sound Energy to support its programme investigating the feasibility of developing and deploying a next-generation nuclear energy facility.
The agreement includes a $10m investment by Puget Sound Energy in Energy Northwest's new nuclear project feasibility phase and will guide future participation and investment decisions. The collaboration does not obligate Puget Sound Energy to any future financial commitment nor signify an ownership interest in a developed project.
The financial commitment by Puget Sound Energy will supplement the approximately $10m already contributed by Energy Northwest and supporting entities, including nearly $1m in combined investment from 17 northwest public utilities. For over two years Energy Northwest thoroughly investigated numerous emerging nuclear energy technologies, and finally selected X-energy's Xe-100 advanced SMR as the design best tailored to the region's specific needs. The ongoing analysis of project structures, schedules, and overall viability will inform future project investments and ultimately the prudency of a final investment decision.
As the owner of Columbia Generating Station, the only commercial NPP in the US northwest developer and operator of a full suite of renewable and energy storage resources, Energy Northwest said it is well-positioned to investigate and facilitate a potential project.
In July 2023, Energy Northwest and X-Energy signed a joint development agreement (JDA) for up to 12 of X-Energy’s Xe-100 SMRs in central Washington. Together, they would generate up to 960 MWe and Energy Northwest expects to bring the module online by 2030. Under the JDA, the Xe-100 project is expected to be developed at a site controlled by Energy Northwest adjacent to the Columbia plant.
The Xe-100 is a high-temperature gas reactor with a thermal output of 200 MWt or an electrical output of 80 MWe. It is one of two designs selected by the US Department of Energy (DOE) in 2020 to receive up to $1.2bn in matching funds under the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) to develop, license, build, and demonstrate an operational advanced reactor and fuel fabrication facility by the end of the decade. X-energy has since completed the reactor engineering and basic design and is developing a fuel fabrication facility in Oak Ridge in Tennessee.
The Xe-100 evolved from both the UK’s Dragon reactor at Winfrith in Dorset and the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor project in South Africa. It will use TRIstructural ISOtropic (TRISO) fuel comprising three layers of carbon and ceramic materials that surround kernels or balls of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel.
Northwest said new nuclear energy technologies, such as advanced small modular reactors (SMRs) “are approaching commercial readiness and feature enhanced safety systems; simplified, standardised, and scalable designs; and the ability to both swiftly integrate with renewables and provide around-the-clock electricity – without producing any greenhouse gas emissions”.
Energy Northwest CEO Bob Schuetz said the partnership with Puget Sound Energy “underscores our shared commitment to address the climate challenge and meet the region's future clean energy needs with the help of new and innovative carbon-free nuclear energy technologies”.
Mary Kipp?, President & CEO of Puget Sound Energy, said: “Our clean energy future depends on finding reliable resources that produce energy when customers need it without emitting greenhouse gases. Advanced nuclear technology has the potential to be that resource.”
