Next week, Westinghouse and Ameren will host an event for potential suppliers to a proposed small modular reactor project in Missouri.
The companies have applied for a share of $452 million in the Department of Energy budget for 50-50 cost sharing toward the design certification and licensing of SMRs. If they're successful, Westinghouse hopes to deploy its modular 225 MWe pressurized water reactor at the site of Ameren's Callaway nuclear plant. Local politicians, the University of Missouri, business groups and all of the state's electric utilities have also supported an alliance to advocate for the project and its use as a catalyst for research and manufacturing of SMRs.
“A U.S.-based SMR industry could generate more than $250 billion of economic activity between now and 2030. The Westinghouse-Ameren Missouri Alliance and the state of Missouri are well-positioned to compete in the advancement of this emerging industry by being on the leading edge of research, engineering and economic development,” said Geoffrey Black in an Ameren release. Black is the chairman of the Boise State University economics department. He's also part of a research consortium for the Idaho National Laboratory’s Center for Advanced Energy Studies and will be the keynote speaker at the supplier summit.
The event will take place Tuesday at the Renaissance Marriott in St. Louis.