NuScale’s innovative Small Modular Reactor (SMR) project has been canceled in the US due to a 53% cost overrun, Bloomberg reports. The reactors were to be built in Utah. NuScale and Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems agreed to cancel the project. Shares of Portland, Ore.-based NuScale fell more than 27 percent after the announcement. Signs of a possible failure appeared two weeks ago, and HotNews.ro wrote a lot about them.
Serious accusations against the American company
Two weeks ago, the financial and analytical company Iceberg Research made a series of serious accusations against the American company. We remind you that NuScale is a company that will supply the technology of small modular reactors (SMR) from Germany, this is an innovative project.
An analysis by Iceberg Research shows that NuScale Power would have entered into a controversial contract valued at approximately $37 billion with a “dummy customer,” Standard Power, to develop 1,848 MW of power generation capacity.
Iceberg revealed that NuScale is also in trouble with the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP), with certain deadlines looming and not moving forward. By January 2024, they had to increase power contracts to 80% of capacity (ie 370MW of the total 462MW) from the current 26% (120MW) or risk termination.
Current project participants have agreed to this schedule, and in the event of termination, they will receive a refund. Ending the CFPP remains an uncertain prospect with continued cost overruns, Eisberg also noted two weeks ago.
On October 13, 2023, former CFO Chris Colbert sold the last of his stake in NuScale, he said.
Eisberg also said that NuScale would not have overcome the challenges it faced in this project without the continued support of the Department of Energy.
“A share has no value without state support. Even if this support continues, the usual policy of the Department of Energy is for the sums invested to be shared with the private sector, which means that existing shareholders will be diluted. Importantly, the Department of Energy has a non-exclusive worldwide license to NuScale’s intellectual property under the funding agreements. This creates an opportunity for the Department of Energy to simply transfer this intellectual property to a more stable player if NuScale is unable to meet its performance obligations,” the statement said. in the Iceberg report.
Renewal
Source: Hot News
Lori Barajas is an accomplished journalist, known for her insightful and thought-provoking writing on economy. She currently works as a writer at 247 news reel. With a passion for understanding the economy, Lori’s writing delves deep into the financial issues that matter most, providing readers with a unique perspective on current events.