The Department of Energy (DOE) recently issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) to fund up to $900 million to support U.S. deployments of Generation III+ small modular reactor (SMR) technologies.
Nuclear power is our single largest source of carbon free electricity, directly employing nearly 60,000 jobs across the country and hundreds of thousands more indirectly. DOE estimates the U.S. will need approximately 700-900 GW of additional clean, firm capacity to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Nuclear power is a proven option that could be deployed to meet this need, including the growing demand from artificial intelligence and other data centers and the reshoring of manufacturing.
Created by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 and funded by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, DOE anticipates offering funding in two tiers:
- Tier 1: First Mover Team Support, managed by the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), plans to provide up to $800M to support up to two first-mover teams of utility, reactor vendor, constructor, and end-users or power off-takers committed to deploying a first plant while at the same time facilitating a multi-reactor, Gen III+ SMR orderbook.
- Tier 2: Fast Follower Deployment Support, managed by the Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), plans to provide up to $100M to spur additional Gen III+ SMR deployments by addressing key gaps that have hindered the domestic nuclear industry in areas such as design, licensing, supplier development, and site preparation.
Read more here: DOE Announces $900 Million to Accelerate the Deployment of Next-Generation Light-Water Small Modular Reactors | Department of Energy