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The first small modular reactor project approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission just got a step closer to becoming reality, according to E&E News’ ENERGYWIRE (subscription).

What’s going on: Members of the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems agreed late last week to the projected costs of NuScale Power Corp.’s “planned cluster of six 77-megawatt, linked reactor modules to be built at a remote site west of Idaho Falls, Idaho.”

• The cost of the project, which is the most advanced of NuScale’s U.S. developments, was readjusted in January to account for inflation, steel prices, interest rates and other factors.
• The majority of UAMPS members voted to continue with the purchase of a portion of the planned SMR’s power.

Up next: The Idaho Falls SMR project, whose first reactor is set to begin operating in 2029, “now moves into an ‘aggressive’ schedule to complete an application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to construct and operate the plant, which UAMPS hopes to submit next January, the utility group said in a statement.”

Clean, affordable energy: “‘The project will support our decarbonization efforts, complement and enable more renewable energy and keep the grid stable,’” UAMPS CEO and General Manager Mason Baker said in a statement, according to the news outlet. ‘“It will produce steady, carbon-free energy for 40 years or longer.’”