B3
THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2021
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Jimi Lott/Seattle Times
The X-energy project is proposed to be built on a portion of a site now dominated by the dome
of the Washington Public Power Supply System No. 1, seen here in 2001. The plant was never
completed and construction was halted in 1982, when it was about 60% complete.
Power plant: Would be state’s fi rst
new nuclear project since the 1970s
Continued from Page B2
oratory in southern Idaho “had to be termi-
nated prematurely” when monitoring indi-
the commercial framework to succeed, and cated “the fuel began to release fi ssion
succeed wildly,” Sell said in March congres- products at a rate high enough to challenge
sional testimony.
off site radiation dose limits.”
X-energy’s four reactors would be able to
If the project moves forward, Lyman calls
generate 320 megawatts of power, less than for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to
one-third the amount of the roughly 1,200 take a more cautious licensing approach that
megawatt capacity of the Columbia Gener- would fi rst approve the reactor as a prototype
ating Station.
before moving into commercial production.
The project, with a reactor dubbed
“A lot of the rationale for why you would
Xe-100, would be the state’s fi rst new embark on this journey is not supported by
nuclear power development since the 1970s, the evidence,” Lyman said.
when the Washington Public Power Supply
X-energy offi cials dispute Lyman’s
System — the initial name for the Energy critique.
Northwest utility consortium — tried to
“I’ve known Ed for a long time,” Sell
build fi ve large nuclear power plants but fi n- said. “He’s committed to his anti-nuclear
ished only one in a disastrous eff ort based positions. That particular report, as it was
on fl awed forecasts of future power demand. related to us, relied on public information
The unfi nished plants left a bitter leg- that is no longer current or relevant.”
acy — including the largest municipal bond
X-energy’s project in Washington also
default in U.S. history and, among some, a is receiving pushback in from a Northwest
deep mistrust of the nuclear power industry. tribe.
One of the most visi-
The
Confederated
ble reminders of the Wash-
Tribes of the Umatilla
‘THIS HAS
ington Public Power Sup-
Indian Reservation does
ply System, which detractors
not support placing small
TO BE
nicknamed “Whoops,” is
modular reactors such as
a massive concrete-domed
COMPETITIVE. those proposed by X-en-
building that dominates a
ergy or any new nuclear
WE’RE NOT
100-acre tract close to the
missions at Hanford,
Columbia Generating Sta-
according to an Aug. 6 let-
DOING THIS
tion. This was supposed to be
ter to the Energy Depart-
WPPSS No. 1 but construc-
ment from the chair of the
BECAUSE WE
tion halted in 1982 when it
tribes’ board, N. Kathryn
THINK THE
was almost 65% complete.
Brigham.
X-energy’s proposal sub-
The federal Hanford res-
TECHNOLOGY ervation
mitted to the Energy Depart-
includes areas that
IS COOL.
ment calls for installing the
rank as the most contami-
reactors on 22 acres of this
nated nuclear sites in North
THIS IS OUR
site, which already includes
America. The massive
water intakes from the
task of treating 177 tanks
CUSTOMER’S
Columbia River.
storing a perilous brew of
MONEY,
radioactive and chemical
Next-generation tech
waste, some of which are
WHICH WE
X-energy’s website pro-
leaking, represents a huge
motes the helium-cooled
cleanup challenge.
TAKE VERY
reactor as safely produc-
The letter noted that
SERIOUSLY.’
ing electricity “in a process
1855 treaties ceding mil-
that’s as clean as wind and
lions of acres of land called
Kevin Nordt | Grant County
solar.”
for the preservation of
Public Utility District’s
The reactor operates
important rights, includ-
general manager
at much higher tempera-
ing hunting, fi shing and
tures than the water-cooled
gathering. Hanford is par-
nuclear plants now in oper-
tially within these treaty
ation. It is stocked, like a gumball machine, territories, and new reactor development
with the pebbles, each of which holds thou- could impact those rights and resources, said
sands of fuel particles.
Brigham’s letter, which called for consulta-
The uranium in these fuel particles is tion to discuss the federal government’s trust
enriched to increase the level of the fi ssion- responsibility under the treaty.
able U-235 isotope above 15%. This is far
The tribes’ concerns are shared by the
below the roughly 90% level required for Columbia Riverkeeper, a Northwest envi-
atomic bombs but still more than triple the ronmental group that released a September
level of enrichment for the fuel of current report blasting small nuclear reactors as an
generation reactors.
“unacceptable solution to climate change.”
The heart of the safety case is the design
X-energy has yet to apply for a Nuclear
of the fuel, which tucks the kernels of ura- Regulatory Commission license to operate
nium inside three protective layers of carbon the reactor, a complex process that includes
and ceramic-based materials.
an extensive safety review, according to
This is called TRISO fuel. The federal Scott Burnell, a commission spokesperson.
Energy Department calls TRISO the “most
‘This has to be competitive’
robust nuclear fuel on earth.” X-energy
In the months ahead, drilling for soil
claims on its website the fuel retains waste
samples is expected to begin at X-energy’s
and prevents meltdowns entirely.
Sell, in remarks in Kennewick on Oct. 28, Columbia River site.
said that this safety enables a dramatically
Construction could begin by 2024,
simplifi ed design that results in big cost sav- according to a tentative timeline.
ings. “I’m talking about a reactor that has
At the Kennewick meeting organized in
one-tenth the number of required safety-re- late October by Energy Northwest, there was
lated systems on it compared to Columbia plenty of optimism. Grant County’s Nordt,
Generating Station,” Sell said.
appearing on a panel with Sell, talked about
The claims of a meltdown-proof fuel are the value of a fl exible source of nuclear
dismissed as “absurd” by Edwin Lyman, a power. And he urged other utility offi cials
physicist with the Union of Concerned Sci- to consider signing up to take some of this
entists who has researched nuclear reactor power.
safety for many years.
“I’d say, look to Grant, we’ll take care of
Lyman questions whether the X-energy the details,” Nordt declared.
reactor would be safe enough to justify a
But in a state where the earlier fi nancial
design that does away with costly leak-tight problems of the Washington Public Power
containment buildings standard for the cur- Supply System still cast a shadow, any move
rent generation of water-cooled reactors.
by a utility district to fi nance a new nuclear
He says the safety of TRISO fuel requires project will get a lot of scrutiny.
the ability to consistently manufacture it to
Nordt acknowledges that.
exacting standards. So far, he said, that has
“This has to be competitive. We’re not
not been demonstrated in the United States. doing this because we think the technology
In a report he published this year, Lyman is cool,” Nordt said. “This is our customer’s
notes a 2019 test of the fuel at a national lab- money, which we take very seriously.”
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Mention Code: 21NovLosing
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