News releases about NuScale Power, Inc.
March 2010
"Next generation nuclear plant will be safer, greener, more efficient,"
asserts NuScale Power executive at energy conference.
LONDON, England -- Driven by technological advances, nuclear power entrepreneurs are responding vigorously to the global need for alternatives to coal- and gas-fired plants to meet future energy demand, said John Surina, chief financial officer of NuScale Power.
"We used to speak of economies of scale, but a new generation of nuclear power plants will bring economies of small," said Surina. "Small, modular, scalable reactors will be easier to finance, easier to build and can play a major role in the battle against global climate change."
Surina is a panelist at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit, March 17-19 at the InterContinantal London Park Lane Hotel.
NuScale Power is marketing a small, modular, scalable nuclear power plant. At 45 megawatts each, reactors are self-contained and can be clustered to produce as much energy as needed up to 540 megawatts. Many nuclear plants in operation today produce well over 1,000 megawatts from a single reactor.
Such large reactors require large upfront investments. Surina said interest among utilities today is growing in smaller nuclear plants that can be scaled to size and require less transmission infrastructure. The NuScale plant fits that bill. It also differs from its predecessor light water reactors in that it is a passively cooled, meaning it doesn't rely on an elaborate system of pumps to operate safely.
Summit web site: www.newenergyfinancesummit.com
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April 2009
NuScale Power Adds Senior Energy
Industry Executive as CFO
Corvallis, OR; NuScale Power, Inc., has named
John "Jay" Surina as its Chief Financial Officer. Surina joins NuScale to lead
all aspects of the finance function including financial strategy,
accounting, forecasting and corporate finance.
Surina joins NuScale from Boart Longyear where he was
vice president, financial planning and analysis. He was instrumental in the
initial public offering of Boart Longyear shares on the Australian
exchange in 2007. In
that role he co-managed the mining services company's global finance
function and led strategic planning and mergers and acquisition work
within the finance function.
Surina previously held executive positions in energy
industry finance, as well as mergers and acquisitions, with Texas
Genco, Centrica North America, and Sithe Energies, including large
equity and debt financing capital raising, both at the corporate and
project levels. He was
co-founder and a managing partner of Cornerstone Energy Advisors, an
advisory firm focused on the sale and financing of electric
generating stations.
Surina is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and
received his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of
Pennsylvania. A former
nuclear trained submarine officer, he continues to serve as a
Captain in the Naval Reserve Intelligence Program.
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February 2009
Los Alamos Labs' Top Engineer
Joins NuScale Power as COO
Corvallis, OR; Tom Marcille has joined NuScale Power, Inc. as Chief Operating Officer. Tom will lead NuScale efforts to complete the NuScale design and prepare a Design Certification Application to be submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission by the end of 2010.
Marcille joins NuScale from Los Alamos National Laboratory where he was chief engineer for advanced reactors. There his responsibilities included development management, and execution of terrestrial and special purpose reactor programs.
Prior to that he spent 20 years as a contributing, managing and principal engineer in GE's advanced and terrestrial BWR business units.
"Tom Marcille brings both management and technical depth as well as significant nuclear experience to the NuScale management team," said Paul Lorenzini, Chief Executive Officer. "We are delighted that he shares our vision and are excited about the energy he will bring as we take the NuScale product to market."
Marcille said he sees the "NuScale design as disruptive technology." "NuScale offers an innovative way of deploying nuclear power on a large scale," said Marcille. "The technology combined with the top down design approach for licensing and constructability, teamed with Kiewit Power Constructors - a turnkey, NQA-1 constructor engineer - as partner, makes this a truly unique and compelling opportunity."
Marcille is the author or co-author of some 20 papers and contributed articles. He is a graduate of the University of Florida with degrees in physics and nuclear engineering.
About NuScale - NuScale Power is developing a modular, scalable nuclear power plant. Each NuScale Power module will produce 40 megawatts of electricity, enough for about 40,000 homes. The size and modular design will allow for the complete manufacturing of NuScale modules at facilities in the United States. NuScale is designing its systems to be scalable with multiple modules operating within a single facility. Owners can add generating capacity as needed to meet growth in customer demand. NuScale plants are based on light water reactor technology and operate using natural circulation. The design incorporates passive systems that significantly increase safety. The NuScale design was initially developed at Oregon State University and is being tested at an electrically heated prototype on campus.
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January 2009
NuScale Notes Progress Toward Commercialization of Modular, Scalable Nuclear Electric Power Plant
January 12, 2009; Corvallis, OR - NuScale Power made major progress in 2008 toward commercialization and Federal certification of its modular, scalable 40 MWe nuclear electric power plant, noted Paul Lorenzini, the company's Chief Executive Officer.
"The advances made in 2008 are testament to the team working on the project at NuScale and around the country, as well as the elegance and simplicity of the design," said Lorenzini.
NuScale is designing its plants so that all major components are modular with the more complex components manufactured and assembled away from the plant construction site. Modular components include the turbine-generator set and the nuclear steam supply system. "In 2008, NuScale verified that it can manufacture all of the modular components at existing facilities in the United States," said Lorenzini. "Our goal in 2009 is to secure agreements with all of the manufacturers that will fabricate and assemble the modular components for NuScale plants."
NuScale initiated the pre-application portion of the Design Certification process with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in February 2008. The pre-application process is structured to ensure that new designs are as complete as possible when submitted to the NRC for certification. NuScale had its first meeting with the NRC in July and its second meeting in November. A third meeting is planned for March 2009. NuScale expects to submit its Design Certification application in late 2010.
"We are pleased with the interactions NuScale is having with NRC staff and the resources the agency is committing to the process," said Lorenzini. "The fact that NuScale is based on light water technology means that the NRC can review the design using its existing knowledge base and technical codes," he said. "In addition, NuScale has a one-third scale, electrically-heated prototype at Oregon State University. We will use the prototype to perform many of the tests and simulations that the NRC will require for Design Certification."
Kiewit Constructors provided substantial design and engineering support to NuScale as part of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in April 2008. "Through our combined efforts we have made significant progress on overall plant design including the major structures and the balance-of-plant that takes steam from the nuclear system and uses it to produce electricity," said Lorenzini.
In addition, Kiewit and NuScale are preparing a comprehensive cost estimate for NuScale power plants. "Our goal is to provide customers with the most accurate estimate possible for the cost to build and operate a NuScale power plant," Lorenzini said. "Any estimate will have numerous variables. But we believe we can draw a clearer picture of costs due to the simplicity of the NuScale design and the modular manufacturing process," he said.
"Once the integrity and safety of the design is confirmed by the NRC through Design Certification, we believe that NuScale's ability to manufacture the major components in a factory setting in the United States will enhance quality control and make costs more predictable," Lorenzini said. "The ability to ensure the highest levels of quality while effectively managing cost is critical to meeting future power needs of the electric utility industry."
Design progress
In 2008, NuScale assembled a team of the nuclear industry's leading scientists, engineers and consultants to support the advancement of key elements of its design. "NuScale is attracting the top talent and internationally-recognized experts in nuclear power to help it with design and analysis," said Dr. Jose Reyes, NuScale Chief Technical Officer. "With their support we are making rapid progress in achieving our design and safety analysis milestones."
The safety inherent in the passive cooling used in the NuScale's design was confirmed by a panel of leading scientists in July 2008. It determined that the NuScale design eliminates the risk of both large and small loss of coolant accidents.
"The panel's preliminary review found that the use of natural circulation and passive cooling during both normal operations and shutdown modes should have a significant affect on improving safety," said Reyes.
Milestones ahead for NuScale in 2009 include:
- Submittal of Technical Reports to the NRC
as part of the pre-application review process.
- An additional pre-application meeting
with the NRC in mid-year.
- Completion of the NuScale plant simulator.
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June 2008
Kiewit Contractors Co. joins NuScale Power to
support development of reliable, scalable nuclear power
April 8, 2008; Corvallis, Oregon Kiewit Constructors Co., a global leader in the construction of industrial and energy facilities, has signed a memorandum of understanding as a Strategic Partner of NuScale Power, Inc.
Kiewit manages some of the toughest construction jobs in the U.S. and Canada. The companys history includes 40 years work on virtually all types of power generation facilities in North America including large hydroelectric projects, coal-fired projects, gas-combustion turbine projects, nuclear projects in Generation II, and wind turbine and waste-to-energy projects.
Kiewit holds current ASME certificates needed to begin construction of nuclear power facilities including NA, NPT, CC and NS certificates of accreditation. Kiewits module facilities in Texas are expected to be the first U.S.-based facility to hold ASME certificates for domestic nuclear power module fabrication.
Kiewit is one of the largest employee-owned firms with over 1,800 U.S. and Canadian employee-stockholders and over 6,000 staff members. Each Kiewit power project is lead by an employee-owner with numerous other employee-owners in key staff positions that support the companys strong values of quality, safety, integrity and success.
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June 2007
NuScale Power Inc. names Paul Lorenzini, PhD chief executive officer
June 25, 2007; Corvallis, Oregon NuScale Power, Inc., has named Paul Lorenzini its chief executive officer. Lorenzini, who holds a PhD in nuclear engineering, has extensive experience in both executive management and nuclear operations.
NuScale is designing systems for small, scalable, modular nuclear power plants. Each NuScale module will produce 40,000 kilowatts of electricity. The scalable design allows facility owners to add capacity as needed.
Lorenzini held several executive positions with PacifiCorp and its domestic and international subsidiaries. These positions included president of Pacific Power & Light, CEO of PacifiCorp Turkey, and CEO of Powercor Australia.
Lorenzini also worked with Rockwell International where he was named Vice President Lorenzini previously worked with Rockwell International where he was named vice president and general manager of Rockwells Hanford operations. Rockwell employed more than 5,000 people and was responsible for nuclear waste management, fuel reprocessing, the Basalt Waste Isolation Project and major site services. In earlier service with Rockwell, Lorenzini was involved in developing safety analysis codes for design of the Liquid Metal-Cooled Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR).
An attorney as well as a nuclear engineer, Lorenzini worked with a Portland law firm where he represented community leaders in Eastern Oregon who intervened in state regulatory proceedings in support of a proposed nuclear plant in their community.
Lorenzini holds a PhD in nuclear engineering from Oregon State University and a JD from Loyola University in Los Angeles. He is the current chair of the OSU Foundation and has served in leadership positions on numerous community organizations.
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NuScale Power Inc. names Jose N. Reyes, PhD
chief technology officer
June 10, 2007; Corvallis, Oregon Jose N. Reyes, PhD, an internationally recognized expert in the design of passive safety systems for nuclear power plants, has been named Chief Technology Officer of NuScale Power, Inc. Reyes served as co-designer of the NuScale passively-cooled small nuclear reactor.
Each NuScale power plant will produce 45,000 kilowatts of electricity. The plants are designed to be manufactured in modules in the U.S., providing for simplified and accelerated construction. The NuScale design also allows facility owners to co-locate multiple units at a single site, adding capacity as it is needed.
At Oregon State University, Dr. Reyes served as head of the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Health Physics. He directed the Advanced Thermal Hydraulic Research Laboratory (ATHRL) and was the co-director of the Battelle Energy Alliance Academic Center of Excellence (ACE) for Thermal Fluids and Reactor Safety in support of the Idaho National Laboratory mission. Additionally, Dr. Reyes was the OSU principal investigator for the Westinghouse AP600 and AP1000 certification test programs sponsored by the USNRC, the U.S. Department of Energy and Westinghouse.
Dr. Reyes currently serves as a United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Technical Expert on passive safety systems. He successfully established a 17-nation coordinated research program on Passive Safety Systems for the IAEA and also developed and directed a course on natural circulation and passive safety systems at the International Center for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy.
Prior to joining the faculty at OSU, Dr. Reyes worked nearly 10 years as a thermal hydraulics research engineer in the Reactor Safety Division of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. He holds Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Maryland and a B.S. degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Florida. He is the author of numerous technical papers and has given lectures and keynote addresses to professional nuclear organizations in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
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