Port of Long Beach Explores 15,000-Home SMR Project at Berth 48
Updated
Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 25
Port of Long Beach Explores 15,000-Home SMR Project at Berth 48
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 25
Summary
A July memorandum with the U.S. Maritime Administration lets the Port of Long Beach and startup Bluecore Energy study a small modular reactor at Berth 48, potentially moving California closer to a new nuclear project.
Bluecore says a barge-mounted reactor could power an entire port terminal or about 15,000 households, supporting the port's zero-emission goals and demand for round-the-clock electricity.
Commercial deployment remains limited: only Russia and China currently operate SMRs, no U.S. design has been completed, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has not yet received a maritime reactor application from Long Beach.
Safety, waste and cost questions still cloud the plan, especially because the reactors would float; California's 1976 moratorium on new fission plants unless a federal waste solution exists adds another major hurdle.