The Price City Council will hold a public hearing to discuss power issues on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 5:30 p.m.
The public hearing, in the City Council Chambers, is for the purpose of receiving public input into the possibility of participating with the Utah Association of Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) in a small modular reactor project that is included in the Carbon-free Power Project.
Advance questions may be directed to Nick Tatton at 435-636-3184. Any questions or comments received in advance will be presented during the public hearing.
A presentation will precede the public hearing at 4 p.m. at the city building. The presentation will explain the technology of the NuScale Power reactor.
Price City is exploring the possibility of buying into the UAMPS project being proposed for construction west of Idaho Falls, ID. There is much to be done before the project is approved. The system is scheduled to go online in 2027.
Nick Tatton, community director for Price City, said at this time the idea is just being considered, but it may be a way for the city to hedge against high power costs in the future. If approved, Price will be one of many investors in the project. UAMPS will own the facility and arrange for power to be distributed to participating communities.
The plant being considered uses a completely new nuclear technology. The reactors are comparatively small, underground, and encapsulated in water. A conventional nuclear plant requires a safety distance of 10 miles. The safety distance involved in this technology is the property fence.
The proposed reactor is small compared to large nuclear facilities, just 30 feet high by 10 feet in diameter. Each unit produces 50 megawatts of power.
The facility is proposed to contain 12 units, for a total of 600 megawatts of power. In comparison, one unit of a coal-fired plant, such as Hunter, produces 400 megawatts of power.
In this new technology each unit is equipped with an automatic shutdown system, should something go wrong. One unit requiring shutdown doesn’t result in the entire system being shut down.
In order to help bring a facility online, NuScale is participating in the cost of development. NuScale will pay 25 percent of the entire cost, while the federal government will contribute 50 percent. That only leaves 25 percent to the participating entities, Tatton said.
Options for withdrawal
And even at that, there are points along the way that permit cities which sign on to bail out, if the project doesn’t proceed as planned. Cost of the power will be in line with the current cost of other wholesale power, but in time may provide power at a very desirable rate, Tatton said.
Currently Price City is participating in two Carbon-free projects, a wind farm in Idaho and the Western Area Power Authority (WAPA), which provides hydropower from Glen Canyon and Hoover dams.
Price City has in the past positioned itself, Tatton said, in a very desirable position by looking into the future. For instance, today WAPA power costs a fraction of other power sources.
Tatton said the current proposal may end up proving to be just as good an investment in 30 years.
Price invites public to hearing on nuclear proposal
Dr. Jose Reyes, who invented the Small Modular Reactor technology