Nuclear company selects MO for manufacturing project

Gov. Jay Nixon was joined by senior executives from Westinghouse Electric Co. LLC to announce that the Cranberry, Pa.-based nuclear power company has selected Missouri as the location to develop and manufacture a new generation of small modular nuclear reactors.

Westinghouse next month plans to apply for competitive federal cost-share investment funds through the U.S. Department of Energy in order to design, license, manufacture and commercialize the reactors, which are highly compact, pressurized water reactors built to maximize safety, according to the company's Web site.

A news release from Nixon's office said all of Missouri's electric power providers are on board with the project and are in support of the application to the Energy Department, including the Missouri Public Utility Alliance, a membership organization that counts among its ranks City Utilities of Springfield, Springfield-based Associated Electric Cooperative and Joplin-based Empire District Electric Co.

If the investment funds are received, Westinghouse, which is owned and operated by the Toshiba Group, would partner with Ameren Missouri to build a Westinghouse SMR at Ameren Missouri's Callaway location, the site of Missouri's only nuclear power plant. The move would help meet the state's energy needs and allow Missouri to be a hub for manufacturing the reactors to be exported internationally, the release said.

“This investment is a once-in-a-generation opportunity that could spark a next-generation manufacturing industry in Missouri," Nixon said in the release. “Designing, developing and commercializing next-generation nuclear technology will create good jobs for Missourians, expand our global exports and ensure that Missouri has affordable, abundant, safe and reliable power for generations to come."