Draft Funding Opportunity Announcement for Industry Comment
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT
U. S. Department of Energy
[IDAHO OPERATIONS OFFICE]
COST-SHARED INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM
for
SMALL MODULAR REACTORS
Funding Opportunity Number: DE-FOA-0000371
Announcement Type: Initial
CFDA Number: 81.121
Issue Date: TBD
Letter of Intent Due Date: TBD
Pre-Application Due Date: Not Applicable
Application Due Date: TBD at 8:00:00 PM Eastern Time
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I – FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION 1
A. SUMMARY 1
B. BACKGROUND 3
C. STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES 5
PART II – AWARD INFORMATION 9
A. TYPE OF AWARD INSTRUMENT 9
B. ESTIMATED FUNDING 9
C. MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM AWARD SIZE 10
D. EXPECTED NUMBER OF AWARDS 10
E. ANTICIPATED AWARD SIZE 10
F. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE 10
G. TYPE OF APPLICATION 10
PART III - ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION 11
A. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS 11
B. COST SHARING 11
C. OTHER ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 11
PART IV – APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION 12
A. ADDRESS TO REQUEST APPLICATION PACKAGE 12
B. LETTER OF INTENT AND PRE-APPLICATION 13
C. CONTENT AND FORM OF APPLICATION – SF 424 13
D. SUBMISSIONS FROM SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS 22
E. SUBMISSION DATES AND TIMES 23
F. INTERGOVERNMENTAL REVIEW 23
G. FUNDING RESTRICTIONS 23
H. OTHER SUBMISSION AND REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS 24
PART V - APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION 25
A. CRITERIA 25
B. REVIEW AND SELECTION PROCESS 28
C. ANTICIPATED NOTICE OF SELECTION AND AWARD DATES 29
PART VI - AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION 29
A. AWARD NOTICES 29
B. ADMINISTRATIVE AND NATIONAL POLICY REQUIREMENTS 29
C. REPORTING 32
PART VII - QUESTIONS/AGENCY CONTACTS 33
A. QUESTIONS 33
B. AGENCY CONTACT 33
PART VIII - OTHER INFORMATION 33
A. MODIFICATIONS 33
B. GOVERNMENT RIGHT TO REJECT OR NEGOTIATE 34
C. COMMITMENT OF PUBLIC FUNDS 34
D. PROPRIETARY APPLICATION INFORMATION 34
E. EVALUATION AND ADMINISTRATION BY NON-FEDERAL PERSONNEL 35
F. UNDERSTANDING COST SHARING REQUIREMENTS 35
G. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DEVELOPED UNDER THIS PROGRAM 39
H. NOTICE OF RIGHT TO REQUEST PATENT WAIVER 39
I. NOTICE REGARDING ELIGIBLE/INELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES 40
Attachment A: SMR DESIGN GOALS 41
Attachment B: SAMPLE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS CHECKLIST 41
Attachment C: POINT OF CONTACT SHEET 41
41
Draft Funding Opportunity Announcement for Industry Comment
PART I – FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION
A. SUMMARY
The Small Modular Reactor (SMR) program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy, through this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) seeks to facilitate the development and deployment of United States owned[1] Small Modular Reactor designs at domestic locations.
The goal of this FOA is to promote the development of SMR technologies that offer affordable, safe, secure, and robust sources of zero-carbon energy. For the purposes of this FOA, SMRs are defined as reactor units with a nominal output of 300 megawatts electric (MWe) or less and are able to be fabricated remotely and transported to the site for assembly of components and operation. The Government is particularly interested in SMR designs that incorporate passive safety features and systems providing inherent protection from natural phenomena hazards or other upset conditions that could lead to nuclear emergency situations.
DOE has been directed by Congress to consider applications utilizing any small modular reactor technology that can be expeditiously deployed. To achieve this goal, this FOA focuses on projects involving SMR designs that can be expeditiously licensed and achieve a Commercial Operation Date (COD) on a domestic site by 2022. Therefore, applications that propose SMR COD no later than 2022 will be considered as meeting the definition of ‘expeditiously deployed.’ At the same time, applications that propose SMR COD before 2022 may receive additional consideration, as outlined in the Merit Review Criteria.
The DOE is seeking applications for financial assistance from teams, consortia, or other partnership arrangements consisting of SMR vendors, power generation companies, and industry suppliers/vendors – either United States (U.S.)-owned companies or companies meeting the requirements outlined in 10 CFR 600.502 – for projects that enable new SMR nuclear power plant designs to be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and ordered for deployment at specified locations in the U.S. For this FOA, project applications are sought from teams which implement a plan of activities leading to the licensing of SMR designs, resulting in operation by 2022. The certification of SMR designs and licensing of plants under this cost-shared partnership may be completed by using either:
- 10CFRPart52 licensing process (Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants); and/or
- 10CFRPart50 licensing process (Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities)
In either case, the applications are expected to address activities that will result in completion of up to two standardized SMR design certifications for the specific technology in accordance with 10 CFR 52, preparation and submission of license applications, and support of NRC reviews and hearings associated with the applications. Applicants will be requested to provide the appropriate economic and business case supporting their selected licensing strategy, including proposed schedules for submittal and NRC approval of both design certifications and license applications.
For the work supported under these cost-shared partnerships, DOE encourages innovative business arrangements, such as consortia among power generation companies, plant owners/operators, reactor vendors, and nuclear suppliers and fabricators with strong and common commitment to build and operate new SMR plants in the U.S. Consideration may also be given for the establishment of partnerships with the U.S. Government and for siting SMRs at or near U.S. Government-owned facilities (for example, Department of Energy sites and Department of Defense installations) that can supply clean nuclear energy to these facilities in support of the Administration’s goals for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.[2] The work supported under a 10 CFR Part 52 licensing strategy for this FOA may include, but is not limited to, the following:
· Development of Early Site Permit (ESP) applications and associated requirements for proposed domestic locations.
· Development of SMR designs in support of certification requirements, including first-of-a-kind (FOAK) engineering, experimental, and analytical activities.
· Development of Design Certification Documentation application and NRC review and approval.
· Development of Combined Operating License (COL) application by selected utility partners teamed with vendors supplying viable and expeditiously deployed SMR designs, and NRC review and approval.
If the licensing strategy follows 10 CFR Part 50, the work supported may include, but is not limited to, the following:
· Development of environmental reviews and associated requirements for proposed domestic locations.
· Development and submittal of construction permit application(s), including any FOAK engineering, experimental, and analytical activities.
· Development of preliminary and final safety analysis report development, including required engineering and analysis, and NRC review and approval.
· Development of operating license application(s), review and approval for selected utility partners teamed with vendors supplying viable SMR designs that can be expeditiously deployed.
Work supported under the FOA for either licensing strategy includes fees accrued from NRC review and approval processes, including fees associated with requests for additional information. Again, if 10 CFR Part 50 is used, the work scope must still include efforts to complete a design certification per 10 CFR 52 requirements.
Fifty percent (50%) minimum industry cost share on an annual basis, consisting of monetary or in-kind contributions from SMR vendors, power generation companies and other substantial participants, is required over the life of the cooperative agreements (CAs) established for all projects. Increased industry cost-share (i.e., proposed contributions greater than 50%) is a program selection factor in evaluating program proposals. The terms and conditions of the cost share requirements will be established through these CAs.
Funding for CAs awarded under this FOA will be subject to Congressional appropriations and direction for the SMR Program. CAs will be awarded in accordance with Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter II Subchapter H, Part 600 (10 CFR Part 600).
B. BACKGROUND
The proposed DOE SMR Program seeks to provide assistance to industry to make SMRs more affordable and available to a wider range of energy customers, and to accelerate the development, licensing, and commercial deployment of these designs. The SMR Program vision is to provide another nuclear power option to the U.S. commercial nuclear industry and electric utilities which offers more flexibility in financing, siting, sizing, and end-use applications than the larger LWR designs. These advantages include:
· Providing reactor designs which offer passive safety capability that require little or no operator interaction to place in a safe configuration.
· Reducing an owner’s initial capital outlay or investment due to the anticipated lower capital cost for SMRs.
· Reducing financial risks to potential owners that operate in regulated energy markets.
· Improving cost, schedule and quality of modular components through replication in a factory setting.
· Reducing construction schedule duration through the use of modular components produced in a factory and transported to the site for assembly.
· Using additional reactor units to incrementally increase output as demand for power increases.
· Providing power for applications where large plants are not needed or where infrastructure to support a large unit is lacking, such as smaller electrical markets, isolated areas, smaller grids, or restricted water or acreage sites.
· Providing a carbon-free option for repowering aging fossil power plants or process heat for industrial applications.
· Providing potential nonproliferation benefits to the U.S. and the wider international community.
· Providing designs which can operate with longer operating cycles between refueling.
There is an emerging domestic and international demand for SMRs, and U.S. industry is well positioned to compete for these growing markets. In the U.S., it is the responsibility of private industry to develop and market commercial nuclear power plants; however, it is a legitimate role of the U.S. Government to assist in the development and deployment of first-of-a-kind nuclear energy technologies to mitigate first-mover licensing and financial risk and to accelerate commercial deployment schedules to meet critical U.S. energy, environmental or economic goals. The SMR Program, therefore, seeks to develop and deploy these new reactor designs that are appropriately sized to meet the economic and infrastructure limitations faced by many domestic utilities wishing to use nuclear power as a solution to their energy, environmental or economic requirements. Through this FOA, the SMR Program will support the design development and certification of selected SMR designs (nominally 300 MWe or less per unit) and the associated licensing requirements for the deployment of these reactors at domestic sites. The goal is to provide safe, secure, and robust sources of energy to meet expanding domestic electricity requirements at an affordable price.
While the deployment of these SMR plants can provide an attractive energy solution for many domestic utilities, the SMR Program will also encourage U.S. industry to compete in the global marketplace by removing various barriers for reactor deployment and to accelerate development and demonstration of new designs. Smaller reactors are particularly suitable for countries with electricity grid constraints for many of the reasons stated above, focusing primarily on safety, cost, and matching electric output to grid capacity while supporting non-proliferation goals of the U.S. government and international community. It is expected that the successful applicant team(s) will have a subsequent commitment, capability, and plan to gauge world interest in their SMR design, market the certified design, and complete the FOAK engineering required to deploy the design. It is expected that an innovative design(s) (prepared either by U.S.-owned companies or companies meeting the requirements outlined in 10 CFR 600.502) with a NRC design approval will result in a competitive advantage over designs being developed by vendors from other countries. For this reason, this FOA is focused on assuring that successful applicants will complete standard design certifications for the selected SMR design regardless of the initial licensing strategy employed.
As a part of their overall business strategy, potential applicants should consider the establishment of design-centered working groups (DCWGs) based around their chosen technologies. The existence of DCWGs will provide additional confidence in the further commercialization of SMR designs.
The DOE also requires the applicants to propose business plans that delineate value propositions specific to the proposed project. As stated above, the goal is to provide safe, secure, and robust sources of energy to meet expanding domestic electricity requirements at an affordable price. Value propositions may include, but are not limited to, the following:
· Approaches and plans to enter into negotiations, upon completion of the proposed FOAK project, to help Government and/or non-Government facilities and sites meet GHG reduction goals through the supply of carbon-free electricity at competitive or discounted rates.
· Approach and plans to support deployment of additional SMRs (beyond the initial project) at Government and/or non-Government facilities and sites with an associated reduction in GHG emissions and improvements in cost profiles per unit based on economies of replication.
· Approach to invest long-term in U.S. commercial nuclear industrial base capabilities to support SMR development and deployment.
· Cost share commitments that provide greater than 50% industry partner share.
· Any other value proposition that potential industry partners consider to provide fair and reasonable value to the public.
The strength of the value proposition is a consideration in the selection process.
C. STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES
The SMR Program will focus on development and deployment of U.S -based SMR designs (nominally 300 MWe or less per unit), that can achieve NRC design certification and licensing to support SMR plant deployment by 2022. Applications are invited for projects that enable new SMR nuclear power plants to be ordered and licensed for deployment at specified domestic locations. The applicant must be capable of conducting the necessary engineering, analysis, and licensing activities to develop, license, and certify the specified SMR designs in accordance with NRC regulations.
The general program objective is to achieve a COD for selected SMR projects by 2022. To support this program objective, applicants shall specify in their response to this FOA their plan, including the technical objectives and milestones for the design, engineering, testing, analysis, and licensing activities required to: