Terrestrial Energy looks at EnergySolutions-owned sites for IMSR plants

Terrestrial Energy is currently working with regulators, suppliers, and industrial partners to build, license, and commission Generation IV IMSR power plants for operation in the early 2030s. According to the company, the thermal and electric power supply systems of its plants can be customized to meet specific site demand requirements, enabling them to support distributed generation for chemical, oil and gas, petrochemical, data centers, and other energy-intensive industrial activities.

EnergySolutions is currently decommissioning nuclear power plants at Kewaunee, Wis., Fort Calhoun, Neb., Three Mile Island-2, Pa., and San Onofre, Calif. It has completed the decommissioning of the Zion plant in Illinois and the La Crosse boiling water reactor in Wisconsin.

The terms: In June 2023, EnergySolutions announced it was in the early phases of exploring the use of former nuclear sites owned by the company, such as Kewaunee, as potential locations for future new nuclear generation sites. Terrestrial Energy and EnergySolutions said they have assessed these sites in North America as possible locations for IMSR plants that could be built on an accelerated deployment schedule. Under the terms of the MOU, the companies agreed to evaluate these sites and select the most suitable.

They said it: “This year we have observed a rapid increase in anticipated demand growth for clean, firm heat and power driven by significant load-growth from key sectors, such as data centers supporting AI operations, and industrials seeking distributed clean energy solutions to achieve their strategic goals,” said Ken Robuck, chief executive officer of EnergySolutions. “Terrestrial Energy’s IMSR plant is uniquely positioned to meet this growing demand at a time when small and modular nuclear power plants, leveraging advanced reactor technologies, are now in the spotlight as high-performance and transformative supply solutions.”

Simon Irish, CEO of Terrestrial Energy, added, “EnergySolutions has a portfolio of sites and deep expertise to support the regulatory actions necessary for site selection and deployment of IMSR plants. We look forward to collaborating with EnergySolutions and other project consortium parties, including those interested in offtake agreements for clean, firm power and heat at gigawatt scale, as well as project partnerships with state and federal governments.”