RICHLAND, Wash. — Energy Northwest announced a partnership last week to build up to a dozen small nuclear reactors in central Washington.
X-Energy Reactor Company and Energy Northwest have agreed to develop as many as 12 Xe-100 advanced small modular reactors at a site near Richland, which houses the only commercial nuclear energy facility in the region.
Energy Northwest expects the first reactor to be online by 2030, and the total project could generate up to 960 megawatts of carbon-free electricity.
“Energy Northwest’s mission is to provide the region with clean, reliable and affordable electricity, and X-energy’s innovative advanced reactor technology will be a valuable addition to our existing portfolio of carbon-free electric generating resources,” said Bob Schuetz, CEO of Energy Northwest. “As the Northwest region of the United States pursues a future clean energy grid, it is clear it will need new sources of dependable, carbon-free power. X-energy’s Xe-100 advanced reactor technology possesses many attributes ideally suited to a carbon-constrained electric system, and this agreement reflects our determination to deliver the technologies to meet growing clean energy needs.”
Each module could provide up to 80 megawatts of full-time electricity or 200 megawatts of high-temperature steam.
According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, one megawatt of energy capacity could produce enough electricity to equal the amount typically consumed by between 400-900 homes in a year.
The release also states that Energy Northwest and X-energy have "engaged extensively" in talks about building an XE-100 facility in central Washington since 2020.
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