There is a pre-proposal conference and site visit scheduled for October 12. Anyone intending to submit a proposal may attend the site visit and must RSVP for the site visit by October 5. Proposals are due on November 29, 2022, at 2 p.m. EST.

Background

The 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) required the Secretary of Energy to report on a pilot program to provide resilience for DoD facilities by contracting with a commercial entity to build and operate at least one NRC-licensed micro-reactor by December 31, 2027. Building on this, Executive Order 13972, “Promoting Small Modular Reactors for National Defense and Space Exploration,” outlined requirements for micro-reactor development specifically within the DoD. More information on EO 13972 can be found here: Federal Support for Defense Uses of Advanced Nuclear.

In October 2021, the Department of the Air Force announced Eielson AFB as the installation to pilot its first micro-reactor. Eielson AFB was selected in part due to its resilient power needs for mission assurance, limited access to clean energy, existing energy infrastructure, and compatible climate.

The purpose of the Eielson micro-reactor is notably different from DoD’s prototype mobile micro-reactor being constructed under Project Pele. As DoD explained in a 2020 request for information about micro-reactors, DoD is interested in both fixed-site and mobile micro-reactor applications. Project Pele is aimed at investigating the feasibility of mobile micro-reactors, while the Eielson project is focused on the use of fixed-site applications.

Contract & Schedule

The contract will be a firm fixed-price contract, of a term not to exceed thirty years, and will include the construction, provision, testing, operation, management, maintenance, and eventual removal of a nuclear micro-reactor energy production facility. The contract will also include the delivery of electricity and steam to the respective interconnection points, ancillary services, and all associated environmental attributes produced by the facility. The facility will be located on Eielson AFB at a location to be selected with the contractor.

As noted, the contractor must license the facility with the NRC. The contractor will be responsible for working with the NRC to determine the best path for licensing the reactor and executing that path and receiving license approval. The NRC also will have responsibility for completing an Environmental Impact Statement under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

In order to meet its date of 2027, the Air Force has established the following initial schedule (which it notes is subject to change):

• 2022: Release RFP
• 2023: Select vendor and release notice of intent to award (NOITA)
• 2023: Begin permitting and licensing
• 2024: Execute contract
• 2025: Begin construction and pilot phase
• 2026: Pre-operational testing
• 2027: End pilot phase, enter commercial operation

This is an aggressive schedule, particularly as the contractor must license the facility with the NRC. Notably, the RFP instructs that a bidder does not need to have a design certification that has been approved by the NRC but does require that “the Contractor must have submitted design applications to NRC prior to submitting their response to this RFP in order to ensure the 2027 timeline can be met.”

DoD has predicted that its energy needs will significantly increase over the next decades, while it also seeks to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. DoD has previously stated that an intent of its micro-reactor pilot program is to determine the viability of micro-reactors for future energy needs. If its project is successful, it is not unlikely that DoD will choose to develop additional reactors. The RFP therefore represents an opportunity to engage with DoD at this critical stage of its evaluation of long-term use of micro-reactors. Therefore, micro-reactor developers are encouraged to consider responding to DoD and submitting a proposal.

The request for proposal can be found at this link. The pre-proposal event is scheduled for October 12. Pre-proposal registration is at this link.

Proposals are due on November 29, 2022, at 2 p.m. EST.