US: X-Energy taps engineering firm to build 320 MW nuclear plant with four small reactors

U.S.-based X-Energy, which makes gas-cooled small modular reactors (SMRs), has teamed up with Fluor, an engineering and project management company, to build the former’s second nuclear power plant. The 320 MWe facility planned for Richland, Washington State, is scheduled to have X-Energy’s four Xe-100 small modular reactors. The increasing demand for carbon-free energy is bringing back nuclear energy in a new format. Instead of building large-scale nuclear power plants, nuclear startups are working to build reactors at scale in a factory and connect modules to improve the capacity of the power plant. The idea has been around for a while but has gathered steam in recent years, and SMRs have received approvals from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (US NRC). Maryland-based X-energy is one such SMR maker in the U.S.; it has not only received regulatory approval but is also close to securing a building permit for its first nuclear power plant in South Texas. The company is now making its next big move in the northwest by deploying four of its Xe-100 SMRs at the Cascade Advanced Energy Facility in Washington State. What is the Cascade Advanced Energy Facility? First announced in 2024, the Cascade Advanced Energy Facility is a joint project between Amazon and X-energy near the Columbia Generating Station in Richland, Washington. The project will feature X-energy’s Xe-100 SMRs that can generate 80 MW of energy per module and boast passive safety systems that prevent the reactor from overheating. At the core of the power plant is the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, which uses helium as a coolant and TRISO fuel, which is embedded inside a graphite matrix, the size of a billiard ball. Xe-100 reactors can be refueled while online, and four such units are planned at Richmond; they will generate 320 MW of electricity. The site will seek a license for 12 modules, meaning that after complete expansion in the future, the facility will generate 960 MW of electricity. Power utilities may purchase up to 50 percent of the energy generated at the site once it is fully operational. Teaming up with Fluor X-energy has teamed up with Fluor to provide engineering, design development, supply chain and other services for the Cascade Energy Facility. However, the association of the two organizations goes back to X-energy’s first power plant at Dow’s UCC Seadrift Operations in South Texas. “The Cascade Advanced Energy Facility represents an important step forward in the deployment of next-generation nuclear energy,” said Pierre Bechelany, Fluor’s Business Group President of Energy Solutions. “Fluor is proud to bring decades of nuclear expertise and project execution experience to support X-energy and its partners in advancing this innovative project.” “The success of our projects begins with working as one team, building on each other’s expertise to drive toward scale,” said Dragan Popovic, Global Chief Operating Officer at X-energy, in a press release. “Repeated execution with partners of Fluor’s quality helps us build that expertise in real time, so that every lesson we carry forward supports greater efficiency in design, licensing, and construction.” X-energy is working towards a goal of 11.5GW of commercial deployment, the equivalent of installing 144 Xe-100s. Of these, 5 GW is to be deployed by 2039, and Cascade Advanced Energy Facility is the one of the first projects in that direction. Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.Ameya is a science writer based in Hyderabad, India. A Molecular Biologist at heart, he traded the micropipette to write about science during the pandemic and does not want to go back. He likes to write about genetics, microbes, technology, and public policy.