Exelon reevaluating its choice of ESBWR

ByRod Adams

Exelon announced last year that it was basing its future project in Texas on GE’s ESBWR design. That choice, however, may be reevaluated as Exelon’s internal reviewers obtain more information about the technical readiness of the design. Here is a quote from a November 25 article in the Chicago Tribune titled Exelon rethinks design for proposed reactor.

“Exelon said it is currently “considering reactor technologies that have more mature designs, more certain cost structures and better availability of information that the ESBWR.”

While the technological advancements that the ESBWR promises “show great promise,” said Thomas O’Neill, Exelon’s vice president for new plant development, the new reactor design’s development schedule “doesn’t meet the needs of our Texas initiative.”

If I was a betting man, I would put money on being able to find some smiling salesmen in Pittsburgh who are pleased to hear that kind of talk.

Rod Adams
Rod Adams

Rod Adams is Managing Partner of Nucleation Capital, a venture fund that invests in advanced nuclear, which provides affordable access to this clean energy sector to pronuclear and impact investors. Rod, a former submarine Engineer Officer and founder of Adams Atomic Engines, Inc., which was one of the earliest advanced nuclear ventures, is an atomic energy expert with small nuclear plant operating and design experience. He has engaged in technical, strategic, political, historic and financial analysis of the nuclear industry, its technology, regulation, and policies for several decades through Atomic Insights, both as its primary blogger and as host of The Atomic Show Podcast. Please click here to subscribe to the Atomic Show RSS feed. To join Rod's pronuclear network and receive his occasional newsletter, click here.

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