Evaluation shows HTGR energy price equivalent to natural gas

The most recent evaluation by the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for a typical High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) multi-module plant shows that high temperature process heat and electric power for use by energy intensive industries can be produced at an energy price that is equivalent to natural gas in the $6 to $9 per MMBTU range.

The NGNP Industry Alliance (Alliance) believes that the key economic drivers that have made HTGR technology of interest to industry will continue to be viable. The price of HTGR produced energy is expected to be competitive with alternative sources of energy such as natural gas, new clean coal technologies and renewables at the anticipated time of initial commercial operation of the first of many HTGRs one to two decades in the future. This is independent of any cost for carbon that may be applied for fossil fuels. Further, this competitive energy pricing will remain stable over the HTGR plant lifetime of several decades.

At the present time, the Alliance views the HTGR as one of the only energy technologies that America can pursue that can address stability of energy pricing (reduce volatility), add to energy security and contribute to a substantial reduction of carbon footprint for the high temperature process heat industries (accounting for up to 20% of the energy use in the US).

With the importance of economic security and our impact on climate changes as a result of our energy decisions today that affect our future, the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory recently prepared the attached one-page summary of the inherent safety characteristics of the HTGR technology.