Research & Applications

NuScale SMR chosen for U.K. wind-nuclear hybrid

January 18, 2021, 12:01PMANS Nuclear Cafe

British hybrid clean energy company Shearwater Energy announced on January 15 that it is joining with U.S.-based NuScale Power to develop a hybrid project using wind energy and small modular reactor technology to produce power and green hydrogen.

According to news reports, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on an initial project, which could be sited at the now-decommissioned Wylfa nuclear power station on the island of Anglesey, off the northwestern coast of Wales. No land agreements have been reached, however.

Going green: Shearwater said that the project could produce more than 3 million kilograms of green hydrogen annually for use in the U.K.’s transportation sector. It also could provide both baseload and load-following power as needed, with any excess electricity used to create green hydrogen (defined as hydrogen produced using renewable energy instead of fossil fuels).

SMR investment: The United Kingdom has announced plans to rapidly expand offshore wind capacity by 2030 and invest in SMR development to meet net-zero carbon emissions goals by 2050. Shearwater and NuScale in their announcement said that hybrid wind-nuclear energy systems not only would provide reliable power, but also would help the power grid overcome intermittency and grid stability issues.

Tags:
hybridnet-zero carbonnuclearnuscaleshearwatersmrwind
Share:
LinkedInTwitterFacebookEmail

Related Articles

A good narrative for nuclear power

March 21, 2025, 7:01AMANS Nuclear Cafe

During an interview for Kitco News at the 2025 Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Convention, held in Toronto in early March, the chief executive of British...

RP3C Community of Practice’s fifth anniversary

February 24, 2025, 9:48AMNuclear NewsDaniel Moneghan and Brandon Chisholm

In February, the Community of Practice (CoP) webinar series, hosted by the American Nuclear Society Standards Board’s Risk-informed, Performance-based Principles and Policies Committee...