Today we announced our agreement with Dairyland Power Cooperative to evaluate building one or more of our 100-megawatt nuclear plants at Dairyland’s Genoa Site in southwest Wisconsin.
Genoa was home to one of the region’s early nuclear plants and later a coal plant that closed in 2021. The power lines that carried electricity from those plants are still there, along with a federally licensed facility for storing used nuclear fuel.
A site that has done this work before has a lot of benefits leading to faster deployment.
Read the full announcement below.
Dairyland Power and Applied Atomics Announce Collaboration to Explore Small Modular Nuclear Technology
La Crosse, WI— Dairyland Power Cooperative and Applied Atomics, Inc., announce the signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) to evaluate the potential deployment of Applied Atomics’ small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear technology at Dairyland’s Genoa (Wis.) Site.
Under the LOI, the two parties will work together to explore Applied Atomics’ SMR technology in support of Dairyland’s evaluation of safe, reliable, cost-competitive and low-carbon energy resources. Applied Atomics’ fleet deployment strategy for multi-unit nuclear installations leads with a focus on scalable and carbon-free energy solutions, which help meet increasing demand in the region for dispatchable, low-carbon power generation.
The collaboration will analyze the feasibility of locating one or more Applied Atomic SMRs at Dairyland’s existing Genoa Site in southwest Wisconsin. Dairyland will explore securing the resulting carbon-free power through a power purchase agreement from Applied Atomics.
“Dairyland continues to evaluate emerging technologies that could support a reliable, resilient and lower-carbon energy future for our members and the region,” Brent Ridge, Dairyland president and CEO said. “This agreement allows us to take a closer look at Applied Atomics’ technology and its potential to better understand how it may complement our evolving generation portfolio.”
Applied Atomics’ scalable 100 MWe SMR power plants are ideally sized to meet the growing needs for firm, affordable power across Dairyland’s member cooperatives. Incorporating mature, light-water reactor technology, Applied Atomics’ power plants are reliable, passively-safe and supported by a best-in-class U.S. manufacturing partner. Designed for deployment from the outset, Applied Atomics projects minimize exotic fuels and materials, maximizing its ability to work with local trades and support high-paying jobs from groundbreaking through each plant’s 60+ year operating life.
“We’re excited to further evaluate the Genoa site and a long-term partnership with Dairyland and the surrounding communities. The site’s power generating history, existing transmission infrastructure and Dairyland’s growing energy needs combine to make this one of the top opportunities to deploy clean, affordable nuclear power by the early 2030s,” CEO of Applied Atomics Ben Kellie said.
Applied Atomics has the exclusive land-based license to use mPower, a pressurized light water reactor designed and manufactured by BWXT. BWXT is actively enabling Applied Atomics’ renewed push to commercialize the mPower SMR, providing technical expertise, preserved test infrastructure and deep manufacturing capability built over decades of nuclear engineering leadership.
“BWXT engineered mPower with utilities squarely in mind: a proven light water design, integrated safety features and a manufacturing approach that supports predictable, cost competitive deployment,” Kate Kelly, president, BWXT Advanced Technologies said. “For utilities like Dairyland evaluating future reliable, carbon free resources, mPower offers the kind of engineering certainty essential for long term planning.”
Dairyland’s Genoa Site previously hosted a now-decommissioned 50 megawatt (MW) nuclear power plant as well as a 345 MW coal plant, which was retired in 2021. An Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI), licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, is currently located at the site.
About Dairyland Power Cooperative: Founded in 1941, Dairyland provides the wholesale electrical requirements and other services for 24 Class A member distribution cooperatives, 2 Class B members and 27 municipal utilities in the Upper Midwest. In turn, these cooperatives and municipals meet the energy needs of over 800,000 people. Dairyland delivers electricity over 3,700 miles of transmission lines and 400 distribution substations located throughout the system’s 44,500 square mile service area.