WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today released the following statement after it was announced that Kansas City Engineering firm Burns & McDonnell would join Westinghouse on a project aimed at bringing Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMRs) to the marketplace:

"It's not surprising to me that a company at the cutting edge of energy production like Westinghouse would look towards this leading, Kansas City-based, engineering firm for expertise to help make the United States the world leader in this technology. Such a partnership is an important next step to advance this technology, grow our economy, and continue on the path of energy security."

McCaskill, a long-time supporter of this emerging technology, previously endorsed an application from Westinghouse and Missouri utility Ameren to the United States Department of Energy designed to bring the reactors to the marketplace. After the Department of Energy announced that it was issuing one funding award for SMRs, instead of two as originally planned, and that award was being granted to another applicant, McCaskill brought together a bipartisan group of Missouri legislators to demand answers from the Secretary of Energy as to why there was a change in the planned number of awards and why the Westinghouse/Ameren application was denied funding despite meeting or exceeding all of the required criteria.

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