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NuScale Power Achieves Standard Design Approval from NRC for 77 MW SMR

LCG, May 30, 2025--NuScale Power Corporation (NuScale), a leading provider of advanced small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear technology, yesterday announced that it has received design approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for its uprated 77 MW power modules. NuScale states that it remains the only SMR technology company with design approval from the NRC, and the company remains on track for deployment by 2030, with 50- and 77-MW SMR options.

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EIA Presents Analysis of California's Solar and Wind Power Curtailment Challenges

LCG, May 29, 2025--The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released an analysis yesterday showing that the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the grid operator for most of the state, is increasing its curtailment of the rapidly growing solar- and wind-powered generation facilities in order to balance electricity supply and demand, which is necessary to maintain a stable electric system.

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Industry News

California Flirts with, Escapes Blackouts

LCG, Jan. 12, 2001California narrowly averted rolling blackouts yesterday when one state agency bought power for another that had a bad reputation for being slow-pay.

The California Independent System Operator, which goes into the market for power to protect the state's transmission grid, has developed over recent months a reputation as a customer that waits 90 days to open its bills. Yesterday, it found that energy traders were slow to deal with it.

Like a shining knight, the California Department of Water Resources rode to the rescue, buying about 1,200 megawatts that it then passed on to the ISO.

This is not the way a free market is supposed to work.

Panicked for power, the ISO had declared a Stage 3 power emergency shortly after lunch yesterday. Facing a peak demand of about 32,000 megawatts, the agency has been without almost 15,000 megawatts it would ordinarily expect to be on tap.

Some 5,000 megawatts of capacity was offline because power plants that have been pushed to their limits were shut down for planned maintenance. According to Kellan Fluckiger, the ISO's chief operating officer, a like amount was offline because of forced outages breakdowns that could take anywhere from an hour or to two fix to a week or two.

On top of that, both units at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant owned by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. had been throttled back to just 20 percent of their potential because high seas in the Pacific Ocean threatened to foul their cooling water intakes with kelp.

Gov. Gray Davis' office blamed the ISO for doing too little to avert outages, and his spokesman thinks maybe that is tied to high power prices in the state. "When they call a Stage 3 alert, the prices naturally go up," said Steve Maviglio. "They just don't go the extra mile."

Maviglio did not provide a road map showing the extra mile on it.

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