Power June 2023 - 7

GLOBAL MONITOR
nuclear knowledge and research infrastructure
can be strengthened. "
The draft budget provides more support
for development of SMRs, with
about $72 million to bring more interest
from nuclear power investors. The climate
plan said the money " completes
the transition phase from design to realization,
accelerated by establishing a
practical link between Dutch manufacturing
industry and the developers of
SMRs. This applies to SMRs based on
conventional nuclear concepts that are
close to the transition to realization ...
the goal is to build knowledge in the production
chain, control, and supervision.
The experience gained is also relevant
for the construction of two new nuclear
power plants. "
Amsterdam-based ULC-Energy in August
of last year signed an agreement
with the UK's Rolls-Royce SMR for collaboration
on SMR deployment in the
Netherlands. ULC-Energy, which began
operations in 2021, has said it wants to
support decarbonization in the Netherlands
by developing nuclear power projects
that could integrate with electricity
networks serving both the industrial and
residential sectors. ULC-Energy has said
it expects to select a project site next
year. The group has said it wants to file
a formal license application in 2025, with
an eye toward starting construction of
an SMR in 2027. ULC-Energy envisions
commercial operation of an SMR at
some point in the next decade.
Bas Suijs, speaking at the recent fuel
cycle conference, said the group is in
the process of pre-licensing work and is
starting negotiations on an engineering,
procurement, and construction contract
with Rolls-Royce. " Right now, we're very
much aligned in our messaging, " Suijs
said. " At some point, we're going to be
sitting on the opposite side of the table
because we have to negotiate with them
a contract for a reactor. "
Suijs said nuclear power needs to be
a larger part of the Netherlands' energy
mix if the country hopes to meet its goal
of decarbonization by 2050. The country
at present relies heavily on natural gas;
government data shows more than 90%
of the country's households are heated
with gas. Much of that gas has come
from the huge reservoir under the province
of Groningen, but officials made a
decision a few years ago to close the
field due to geological issues, including
earthquakes and sinking ground.
-Darrell Proctor is a senior associate
editor for POWER.
OTEC, a Long-Stalled Baseload
Ocean Power Technology, Is
Seeing a Swell
A project to deploy a 1.5-MW commercial-scale
ocean thermal energy conversion
(OTEC) platform in the African
island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe
by 2025 has gained a key design certification.
The crucial milestone directly
addresses technical risks that have
hampered OTEC, a long-pursued baseload
offshore renewable technology.
UK-based firm Global OTEC Resources
in April received its first certificate of
approval for the methodology of installation
of a cold-water riser-a pipe used to
transport seawater from the ocean to the
seawater tank and vice versa from an offshore
OTEC platform. The certificate was
granted by marine warranty surveyor
ABL Group, which provides independent
third-party technical reviews for high-risk
marine construction and transportation
projects. The milestone " is particularly
important given the technical challenges
faced by OTEC installations, and the long
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Power June 2023

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