It will take years before becoming reality, but plans are in the works for the construction of at least one new nuclear power reactor that will go up in Arizona as part of a joint venture between the state’s three largest utility companies.
In a statement officially announcing the project, the companies Arizona Public Service, Salt River Project, and Tucson Electric Power have said that they are joining together as part of a “shared interest in evaluating their potential to support growing energy needs in the state.”
The project could see the construction of several small modular reactors capable of generating up to 300 megawatts of power and built at the locations of several retiring coal plants.
“While new nuclear generation would take more than a decade to develop, the planning and exploration of options must begin now,” Ted Geisler, the president of Arizona Public Service, remarked in the official statement.
To that end, the three companies have applied for a $900 million grant via the Department of Energy that, if awarded, would fund work exploring potential sites for the facilities. The application has more specifically been submitted to the Energy Department’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstration and Office of Nuclear Energy.
If approved, the grant would support what is expected to be a three-year site selection process. In so doing, according to the official project announcement, a process would be launched to potentially enable a new nuclear facility to be operational sometime in the early 2040s.
February 17, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Drawing courtesy of Department of Energy
