SE Nebraska Considered As Possible Site For Nuclear Reactor

By Gordon HopkinsA location near Beatrice is one of 16 potential sites for a proposed nuclear power plant in Nebraska.The announcement last week marks the beginning of phase two of NPPD’s (Nebraska Public Power District) Next Generation Nuclear Feasibility Survey. In 2022, the Nebraska Legislature allocated one million dollars to the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) to fund the feasibility study. Those funds were subsequently awarded to NPPD.Other possible sites under consideration are: Brownville, Fremont, Grand Island, Hallam, Hastings, Holdrege, Kearney, Lexington, Nebraska City, Norfolk, Plattsmouth, Rushville, Sutherland, Valentine, and Wauneta. NPPD President and CEO Tom Kent said, “As we move from phase one to phase two, we will be working to take those 16 communities and start doing more community outreach with them, answering questions, helping them understand what nuclear power is, what the opportunities are, answering any concerns. At the same time, we will also be doing more in-depth technical evaluations of each of those communities.”As of December 2023, Nebraska has a single nuclear reactor. The Cooper Nuclear Station (CNS), located on the Nebraska-Missouri border, near Brownville, first went online July 1, 1973, and operates as a single-unit electrical generator, producing approximately 835 megawatts of electricity. According to NPPD, “This would be enough power to supply more than 385,000 residential customers during the hottest summer. CNS provides Nebraskans with safe, clean & reliable electricity.”In late November 2010, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission renewed the plant’s license for 20 more years, through January 18, 2034. The reactor currently under consideration would be a very different type from CNS. Known as small modular reactors, these new type of compact reactors are being considered for use throughout the world.According to the World Nuclear Association, “Small modular reactors (SMRs) are defined as nuclear reactors generally 300 MWe equivalent or less, designed with modular technology using module factory fabrication, pursuing economies of series production and short construction times. This definition, from the World Nuclear Association, is closely based on those from the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and the US Nuclear Energy Institute. Some of the already-operating small reactors mentioned or tabulated below do not fit this definition, but most of those described do fit it. PWR (Pressurized Water Reactor) types may have integral steam generators, in which case the reactor pressure vessel needs to be larger, limiting portability from factory to site. Hence many larger PWRs such as the Rolls-Royce UK SMR have external steam generators.” Governor Jim Pillen is supportive of the project. In a press conference last week, Pillen said, “I think, for the people of Nebraska, this conversation is extraordinarily important and critical at this time, because there’s tremendous opportunities for urban and rural economic development that is once in maybe seven generations time of opportunity, and we just can’t miss it.”

Barbara Blanche (DeFrain) Jantzen

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