FILE - A sign shows Fort Bragg information May 13, 2004 in Fayettville, North Carolina. (Photo by Logan Mock-Bunting/Getty Images)
The United States Army announced this week that it plans to add nuclear microreactors to five military bases to serve as a reliable source of energy independent of the commercial electric grid.
Nuclear microreactors to power some bases
Dig deeper:
Five companies selected by the Army will be awarded up to $2.2 billion in total over five years to own, construct and operate the microreactors, if they hit set milestones along the way for their performance.
The Army expects that more than 20 nuclear microreactors will be built and operated.
The military installations will remain connected to the grid. The reactors would not completely power them. Each reactor will provide between 1 megawatt to 20 megawatts of power, depending on the company’s design. Major bases use as much power as a small city. Antares and Radiant are planning to deliver their reactors in three-packs, Waksman said.
The Army now uses diesel as a primary backup for critical infrastructure. But in a conflict, Waksman said, the Army may not be able to move fossil fuels easily wherever it needs them.
The companies that will be building, operating and maintaining the reactors are:
- Antares Nuclear at Fort Bragg in North Carolina
- BWXT at Fort Campbell in Kentucky
- General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems at Fort Hood in Texas
- Radiant Industries at Fort Benning in Georgia
- Westinghouse Government Services at Fort Drum in New York
What they're saying:
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said the awards will accelerate the military’s ability "to deliver safe, reliable baseload power directly to our installations. We are building the energy resilience necessary to project combat power globally, without relying on potentially vulnerable external grids," he said.
Janus Program
Big picture view:
The announcement comes as the Trump administration pushes hard to develop the next generation of nuclear power, including billions in loans for large nuclear reactors to meet skyrocketing power demand from data centers and a pilot program to boost advanced reactor designs and projects for military and civilian use.
The grants are part of the Army’s "Janus Program" launched last year to deliver next-generation nuclear energy.
Officials hope to push nuclear development forward so that advanced reactor designs move beyond experiments and prototypes to provide power for years to come. This will be the "spear tip," said Jeff Waksman, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army for installations, energy and environment.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press.