Kansas looks at advanced reactor option

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the nuclear innovation company, the Kansas City-headquartered utility and the state's economic development agency will enable the three entities to collaborate to evaluate site-specific characteristics for a potential advanced nuclear power plant, and to explore the Natrium plant's technical design and ability to support Evergy's customers. Site selection will be based on an evaluation of a variety of factors including community support, the physical characteristics of the site, the ability of the site to obtain a licence from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and access to existing infrastructure, the parties said.

The Natrium reactor - a TerraPower and GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy technology - features a 345 MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor with a molten salt-based energy storage system which can boost the system's output to 500 MW of power when needed. This means it can keep a steady base output and ensures reliability, as well as being able to quickly ramp up to meet peak demand. According to TerraPower, it is the only advanced reactor design with the capability to do this.

"Our Natrium technology features a next-generation reactor with enhanced safety and efficiency, paired with utility-scale storage to ensure grid resilience," TerraPower President and CEO Chris Levesque said, adding that the TerraPower team is "excited to advance conversations … on the opportunities that the Natrium reactor and energy storage system brings to Kansas".

Evergy is the majority owner of Wolf Creek, a single unit pressurised water reactor plant that provides around 17% of the state's electricity.

"Nuclear energy has been part of Evergy's generation mix for decades, and this next step will allow us to explore the opportunity to add reliable, non-carbon-emitting advanced nuclear energy in the state of Kansas," said Evergy Chairman and CEO David Campbell. "This agreement supports our all-of-the-above energy strategy and will allow us to evaluate the cost, technology, and feasibility of potentially deploying Natrium advanced nuclear plants."

TerraPower broke ground for its first Natrium plant last year at a site in Kemmerer, Wyoming. Earlier this year, the company formed a strategic alliance with science, technology and engineering solutions company KBR to establish a long-term collaboration for the commercialisation and global deployment of Natrium reactors, which recently announced plans to jointly conduct studies and evaluate potential sites for Natrium technology deployment in the UK. In January, TerraPower signed an MoU with Sabey Data Centers to explore the deployment of Natrium power plants at current and future data centres in the Rocky Mountain region and in Texas.