MidAmerican Energy has decided that a proposal to build some of the country's first small modular reactors in Iowa is too far ahead of its time.
On Monday, the utility told the Des Moines Register it will not build SMRs at either of two potential locations in the state. An executive cited the lack of a currently licensed SMR design as a primary reason for the decision, which followed a three-year feasibility study and the acquisition of purchase options at the sites under review. The utility will refund $8.8 million of the $14.2 million it raised from ratepayers to study the project.
SMR development has moved forward in recent years, most notably through an ongoing $452 million Department of Energy program to assist with the costs of licensing the technology. Most of the designs under consideration for that program are similar to traditional light water reactors but offer the potential for scalable, multi-unit plants and the cost savings associated with pre-manufactured units.
While it had not committed to a technology, MidAmerican is part of the advisory board of SMR startup NuScale Power. MidAmerican also considered construction of a new natural gas plant, which the company also opted against.