POWER July 2016 - 9

The clean gas is then transported to the
power plant (Figure 2) via pipeline, where
three Wärtsilä 34SG engines use it as fuel.
According to Wärtsilä, the engines are optimized
to run on Lake Kivu's gases, which
have a lower heating value than standard
natural gas. " This has helped to downsize
the size of the extracting barge and optimize
the costs of producing electricity, " it
said in a statement.
ContourGlobal noted that the design
and technology is performing " even better
than expected, " and projects that the
gas extraction facility will support at least
an additional 9 MW of power generation,
likely by the end of 2016.
For Rwanda, the project is proving valuable
beyond its power production, underscoring
its contribution to the region's
socioeconomic
development.
ContourGlobal
is working with the local population,
training and developing local workers
to run KivuWatt and future installations.
The project has also generally promoted
peace with the DRC (the border area has
suffered from intermittent conflict for decades),
which is also reportedly considering
a similar project, the government said.
Rwanda is now planning a second phase
that will involve two or three barges to
generate an additional 75 MW.
TVA Submits Pioneering
Application for SMR Early
Site Permit
The first-ever early site permit (ESP) application
for a small modular reactor (SMR)
was submitted to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) this May, marking
a resurgence for the fledgling nuclear energy
technology that has seen a number of
setbacks in recent years.
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
submitted an ESP application for a potential
future SMR plant at its Clinch River
site, 25 miles northwest of Knoxville in
eastern Tennessee. The pioneering move
could result in an operating plant at the
site by 2026 if the TVA chooses to pursue
development, experts from the Nuclear Energy
Institute said.
The federally owned corporation's exploration
of SMR technology is part of
efforts to diversify its fleet, moving it
toward low-carbon energy. The TVA also
said that the project's main objective is
to demonstrate that SMRs can be used to
meet generation needs in an " incremental
fashion " while addressing critical energy
security issues and tackling carbon reduction
goals. The U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE) is partially funding the TVA's regulatory
review process.
The NRC has so far received seven applications
for ESPs-certification that a site
is suitable for construction of a nuclear
plant-and all but Clinch River have been
focused on full-size reactors. But most applicants
have chosen to defer their license
applications, citing economic reasons. For
the TVA, the value of an ESP application
is to reduce licensing uncertainty when it
applies for a combined license by reaching
early conclusions on siting and environmental
issues. However, it said, a final
decision to proceed-still " several years
away " -will also hinge on economics.
The company has yet to choose an SMR
technology. In 2011, the TVA joined forces
with Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) to design
and license its 180-MW mPower SMR, but
that company slashed funding for the
mPower program in April 2014, citing unfavorable
market conditions. A number of
other light-water SMR designs are under
development in the U.S., including those
by BWX Technologies, Holtec, WestingCIRCLE
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