“Timelines tend to be relatively elongated in this industry, no matter what you’re dealing with,” Hinze said.

But there’s a flip side to all those concerns, he noted: A success in Idaho could give NuScale a major boost. Aging coal-fired power plants and nuclear generating stations are likely to be decommissioned just as the new technology comes to market.

“If that project goes well, I do think there are other opportunities for NuScale in the United States,” Hinze said. “A lot of coal or even nuclear (generating) capacity will come offline by 2030.”

Cause for optimism

Doug Hunter, the chief executive officer of UAMPS, is keenly aware of the scrutiny the new plant will face.

“We believe we’ve got a good place to test this out and show it’s as safe as NuScale says it is,” he said. “We hope we can be able to prove this out at Idaho National Laboratory.”

In addition to safety, another aspect of the project that will be closely watched is generating cost. In order to make a NuScale power plant pencil out in the wholesale energy market, it has to be price-competitive with other major generating sources such as combined-cycle natural gas, a current low-price leader.