The United State Department of Defense has broken ground in eastern Idaho in preparation to install and test the nation's first transportable nuclear reactor.
Known as "Project Pele" (Portable Energy for Lasting Effects), it is the first groundbreaking in 46 years in the U.S. for a non-naval nuclear power generator, according to the Department of Defense. The name is also a nod to the Hawaiian goddess of fire and power, but not the famous soccer player.
The "Generation IV" reactor would be the first of its kind to generate power in the U.S., and is designed to be transportable. It's projected to generate between one to five megawatts of power for military use in remote or difficult locations, and would take a bite out of the 10 million gallons of fossil fuel the DoD uses each day. Reducing reliance on finite energy resources is also a priority for the department.
Crews will prepare a site at the Idaho National Laboratory for a protective concrete structure to house the reactor once it arrives in 2026 in four shipping containers from its manufacturer in Virginia. Once connected to INL’s microgrid, testing and evaluation will begin, but it's taken longer than expected.
Project director Dr. Jeff Waksman said last year they hoped the reactor would be headed to Idaho and getting running by early 2025.
In a news release announcing the groundbreaking, Strategic Capabilities Office director Jay Dryer said the project is key to improving DoD energy resilience, "and will also play a crucial role in advancing nuclear power technology for civilian applications."
INL said it could be the first of many next-generation experimental reactors tested in Idaho before the end of the decade.
