Nuclear Reactor, Natural Gas Power Plant To Be Built At APG

ABERDEEN, MD — The U.S. Army announced that the Aberdeen Proving Ground will become home to a small nuclear reactor and natural gas power plant.

Five installations and five nuclear energy partners have been announced as the Army advances its Janus Program, which aims to place microreactor power plants on Army posts, according to the Association of the U.S. Army.

Terrestrial Energy Inc., in Charlotte, North Carolina, will supply advanced nuclear reactor technology for the power-generation project that Ameresco Inc. is developing at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. It will be a molten salt nuclear reactor.

The project will combine natural gas and advanced nuclear generation in phases. Ameresco plans to provide electricity to the regional power market while improving the installation's ability to maintain a reliable power supply.

Unlike conventional nuclear reactors, which use pressurized water for cooling, molten salt reactors use heated liquid salt at normal atmospheric pressure.

Fort Detrick in Frederick will host a fuel cell plant that converts natural gas or other fuels into electricity without combustion, according to the U.S. Army.

“The ability to provide backup power to our installations is critical to ensuring mission success and resiliency for our installations,” Jeff Waksman, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment, said in a statement. “These awards are translating national energy priorities into action — promoting American energy dominance.”

The privately built plants will supply electricity to the regional grid while providing reliable power for the military installations, Army officials said.

Development is expected to start next year, with the plants producing electricity by 2030.

“Everything that we do, from communications to radar, just requires constant energy, and … in the future with drones, with energy weapons, there’s just more and more demand for electricity. At the same time, our supply chains have never been so challenged,” Waksman said during a media roundtable in late August. “Right now, all critical infrastructure that the Army has is backed up by some form of liquid fossil fuel, primarily diesel. So, that makes nuclear energy just a natural game changer for the Army.”

“No construction will begin until rigorous environmental and regulatory reviews — including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Clean Air and Water Acts, and all required federal, state and local permits — are fully complete,” a statement released by the U.S. Army said.