Annette Cary reports that a bill to support the manufacturing of small modular reactors in Washington state passed the state Senate 31-12 on Tuesday as the Legislature wrapped up its work.\n\nSenate Bill 5113 would require the Department of Commerce to coordinate and advance the manufacturing of small modular reactors in the state to make sure that Washington is a player in what could be a new energy production field. It also would promote a clean-energy education program, which would include nuclear power. The bill says that we will lay the groundwork to make sure that Washington is competitive for nuclear and other clean-energy jobs now and for years to come, Brown, a leading supporter, said.\n\nWashington has the in-state expertise to begin looking at the supply chain for the components of small modular reactors. We have the intellectual capital, she said.\n\nThere is interest in the Tri-Cities for positioning the community as a center for assembling or manufacturing the small nuclear plants to be shipped around the world, including to Asia. The reactors are proposed to be manufactured in modules and then shipped to where they will be used, with additional modules added as demand for electricity production increases.\n\nBrown is concerned that nearby states are gaining an edge in the field. Oregon is home to NuScale Power, which is developing a small modular reactor, and NuScale is working with Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems and Energy Northwest to operate its first small reactor, likely in Idaho.\n\nSo are we going to forge a path to more manufacturing jobs, and more gainfully employed residents, or are we going to sit back and watch states around us take our intellectual capital and dominate this industry? she asked.
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