BOISE — The U.S. Department of Defense plans to build an advanced mobile nuclear microreactor prototype at the Idaho National Laboratory near Arco.
The Project Pele plan calls for building the reactor and reactor fuel outside of Idaho and assembling and operating the reactor at the lab in Idaho. The decision follows a two-volume, 600-page environmental impact statement that includes public comments evaluating alternatives for building and operating a gas-cooled microreactor that could produce 1 to 5 megawatts of power.
"Advanced nuclear power has the potential to be a strategic game-changer for the United States, both for the (Department of Defense) and for the commercial sector," said Jeff Waksman, program manager for Project Pele. "For it to be adopted, it must first be successfully demonstrated under real-world operating conditions."
Officials had previously said preparing testing sites at the Idaho National Lab and then building and testing the microreactor would take about three years. The department said the project is subject to the availability of appropriations.
Two reactor designs are being considered. The department said both designs are high-temperature gas-cooled reactors using enriched uranium for fuel.
If the project goes forward, officials said it would be the first generation IV nuclear reactor to operate in the United States. The Defense Department said the first electricity-generating generation IV reactor was a Chinese reactor that started up last September.
The reactor would use 30 terawatt-hours of electricity per year and more than 10 million gallons of fuel per day. Defense Department officials expect energy demands to increase with a transition to an electrical, non-tactical vehicle fleet. Thirty terawatt-hours is more energy than many small countries use in a year.
Critics of the military using small, mobile nuclear reactors have said they could pose more logistical problems and risks to troops than they solve. Another concern is that nuclear reactors in potential combat zones or foreign operating bases could become targets.
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