TVA to help develop mini-nuke reactor

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Aug. 3 (UPI) -- The Tennessee Valley Authority says it is helping nuclear power company Babcock & Wilcox to design a mini-nuclear power reactor.

Because proposed full-sized nuclear power plants aren't attracting financing, the TVA, which provides electricity for Tennessee and parts of six other states, has agreed to help Babcock & Wilcox gain certification for a new kind of reactor that would be a tenth the size of a regular model, The (Nashville) Tennessean reported Monday.

"It's part of TVA's interest in looking at different options going forward," TVA spokesman Terry Johnson told the newspaper.

The TVA says it's looking into the feasibility of a building one of the small reactors near its Oak Ridge, Tenn., facility. The plans call for the mini-reactor to generate enough electricity for 100,000 homes, with its atom-splitting technology and radioactive waste receptacles to be housed underground, the Tennessean said.

Critics say the mini-nukes are prohibitively expensive and don't offer economies of scale that could make costs more reasonable while backers, such as U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., are bullish, contending they could spur a new wave of nuclear power generation, the Tennessean reported.