CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W) (NYSE: BWC) announced today that its subsidiary, Babcock & Wilcox mPower, Inc. (B&W mPower), and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have signed a Cooperative Agreement for funding made available through DOE’s Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Licensing Technical Support Program for the development and licensing of B&W’s mPower™ technology.
The $79 million allocated for the first year of the program will be immediately available to the B&W mPower program. While the DOE has projected that approximately $150 million will be made available during the five-year period of the DOE award, subject to incremental appropriations from Congress and B&W mPower’s compliance with the terms of the Cooperative Agreement, the Cooperative Agreement allows for $226 million or more in federal funding. B&W mPower intends to use any additional funding made available on a cost-shared basis for licensing and engineering activities that qualify under this award.
“The Department is pleased to complete this important step in our SMR Licensing Technical Support Program,” said Dr. Peter Lyons, U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy. “Our work with B&W mPower will help advance the commercialization of safe and efficient SMRs in the United States. U.S.-built SMRs have the potential to cost-effectively support our nation’s energy and climate goals while boosting U.S. manufacturing capabilities and job growth.”
The signing of the Cooperative Agreement formalizes B&W’s cost-share agreement with DOE, following the selection of the mPower America team – comprised of B&W, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Generation mPower – as the winner of DOE’s competitively bid funding opportunity, in support of commercial demonstration of the B&W mPower SMR by 2022. B&W mPower and Bechtel (who together formed Generation mPower LLC) will provide licensing and engineering support for the mPower America Project.
“This award represents another key milestone in the work to establish the world’s first commercially viable SMR nuclear plant,” said E. James Ferland, President and Chief Executive Officer of B&W. “The collaboration and dedication demonstrated by the DOE and the mPower America team in making this Cooperative Agreement a reality has been nothing short of exemplary. Looking ahead, our collective focus will remain on ensuring the quality and integrity of our design and our readiness to bring the product to market.”
“This Cooperative Agreement signing sends a strong signal from the DOE endorsing SMR technology and our plans to seek a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” said TVA Senior Vice President of Policy and Oversight, Joe Hoagland. “SMRs offer TVA an important new option for achieving clean, base-load electricity generation and we are ready to begin the work to understand the value of that option.”
The first key step for the mPower America Project was achieved in February when B&W mPower and TVA signed a contract to prepare and support the Nuclear Regulatory Commission review of a Construction Permit Application for a B&W mPower nuclear plant at TVA’s Clinch River Site. With the signing of the Cooperative Agreement, geological characterization studies will commence at the Clinch River Site within approximately six weeks. The mPower America team will also develop a Preliminary Safety Analysis Report, a Design Certification Application for the mPower Plant and a Construction Permit Application for up to four mPower SMR units.
The B&W mPower reactor is an advanced integral pressurized water reactor designed to generate 180 MW of electricity. The reactor incorporates technology innovations which advance the state-of-the-art in nuclear plant safety, security and economics.
About B&W
Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., The Babcock & Wilcox Company is a leader in clean energy technology and services, primarily for the nuclear, fossil and renewable power markets, as well as a premier advanced technology and mission critical defense contractor. B&W has locations worldwide and employs approximately 14,000 people, in addition to approximately 10,400 joint venture employees. Learn more at www.babcock.com.
About TVA
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a corporate agency of the United States that provides electricity for business customers and local power distributors serving 9 million people in parts of seven southeastern states. TVA receives no taxpayer funding, deriving virtually all of its revenues from sales of electricity. In addition to operating and investing its revenues in its electric system, TVA provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists local power companies and state and local governments with economic development and job creation. www.tva.gov.
About Bechtel
Bechtel is among the most respected engineering, procurement, and construction companies in the world. It stands apart for its ability to get the job done- no matter how big, how complex, or how remote. Bechtel is built upon time-tested values of excellence and integrity. The reliability of its performance, the enduring quality of its projects, the strength of its ethics, and the seriousness of its commitment to safety and sustainability, are evident in everything it does. For more information about Bechtel visit www.bechtel.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements
B&W cautions that this release contains forward-looking statements regarding the B&W mPower program and the Cooperative Agreement, to the extent such statements relate to management’s plans and expectations regarding the commercialization of the B&W mPower reactor and receipt of DOE funding under the Cooperative Agreement. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, our inability to finance B&W mPower research and development efforts, the availability of continued DOE funding under the Cooperative Agreement, B&W mPower’s ability to comply with the terms of the Cooperative Agreement, adverse changes in the demand for or competitiveness of nuclear power and changes as a result of regulatory oversight by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or other U.S. Government agencies. If one or more of these or other risks materialize, actual results may vary materially from those expressed. For a more complete discussion of these and other risk factors, please see B&W's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. B&W cautions not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release, and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, except to the extent required by applicable law.
