TerraPower becomes first advanced reactor company to join INPO
On July 21, TerraPower announced that it had been accepted into the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations. INPO and TerraPower alike celebrated the development as the first time an advanced nuclear company has joined the institute’s ranks, representing an important step forward in safety and industry coordination among newcomers to the nuclear industry.
Some history: Shortly after the partial meltdown of Three Mile Island-2, a consortium of utilities created INPO to address “one of the central problems revealed by the TMI accident, the need to have qualified and competent people to operate and manage nuclear power plants,” as explained in the March 1981 issue of Nuclear News (p. 47). That lengthy NN article goes on to say that INPO would soon establish standards of quality and competence; evaluate operating practices at nuclear plants; set criteria for personnel qualification, training programs, and instructors; and analyze operating experience.
While INPO was created independently, without federal direction, it quickly gained a significant nod from the government by way of the Kemeny Commission, a 12-person group established by the Carter administration and charged with investigating the causes and any consequences of the TMI accident. In its final recommendations, that commission noted that INPO could be an appropriate vehicle to set standards and conduct independent evaluations of the industry.
Fast forwarding: In the decades since its creation, INPO has followed through with its originally established objectives and become an indispensable—if frequently overlooked—part of the global nuclear ecosystem. Today, the institute engages, through various programs, with nuclear power plants in the U.S., Canada, China, Mexico, Romania, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. INPO also works closely with the World Association of Nuclear Operators.
In January of this year, in an interview with Nuclear News, Jeff Place (INPO’s executive vice president for industry strategy) explained that the institute focuses on four main challenge areas: industry performance, industry sustainability, teaching and learning, and data science and analytics. “We implement that work through our operating model that includes our continuous monitoring program, accreditation activities, and various courses and seminars,” he explained.
While Place acknowledged, at the time, that there were a number of nuclear newcomers that INPO had yet to interact with, he added that “We believe it is important for new nuclear entrants to understand the social license that each of our utilities has to run these plants and that if something significant happens at any nuclear plant—new entrants included—it creates challenges for the entire industry.”
TerraPower’s entrance: In a press release, TerraPower CEO Chris Levesque said that the company has joined INPO as an operating member in support of Kemmerer-1, in Wyoming. That project will feature the first deployment of its Natrium power plant, a 345-MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor with an integrated molten salt–based heat storage system that can temporarily boost power output to 500 MWe. The company officially began construction on the project in April after receiving Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval of its construction permit in March.
Earlier this week, in a public NRC meeting, TerraPower announced that it is planning to submit a Part 50 operating license application for the project by March 2028.
Levesque added in this newest press release that the company’s membership in INPO reflects “TerraPower’s unwavering commitment to safety, performance, and reliability that INPO has championed for decades.”
INPO CEO Bob Willard added that, “As the first advanced reactor company accepted into INPO membership, TerraPower is demonstrating a commitment to the principles of operational excellence, safety, reliability, and continuous learning that have defined commercial nuclear operations for decades.”
