Coverage of the February 2026 airlift (World Nuclear News, ExecutiveGov, Deseret News) called Ward 250 a 5 MW or five-megawatt reactor able to power about 5,000 homes. POWER magazine (June 19, 2026) describes it as 100 kWt initial test power, scalable to 5 MWe, and ANS attributes the 100 kWt figure to Taylor; the Utah lab page says the design is meant to scale to 5 MW. Read together, 5 MW appears to be a design or scale-up rating, while the tested reactor is described by Valar at about 100 kW thermal for continuous running, roughly fifty times smaller. Valar's draft safety agreement (NSDA Rev 02) sets 'Maximum continuous power: 100 kWth' and allows 250 kWth for short (1-hour) runs; DOE's categorical exclusion describes Ward 250 as 'a 250 kilowatt thermal (kWth)' reactor. No DOE document stating the authorized power limit was read in this pass (see open questions).

• Valar Atomic’s Ward 250 Becomes Second Reactor to Go Critical Under DOE Pilot Program (POWER Magazine, 2026-06-19) news “100 kWt initial test power and scalable to 5 MWe”
• US microreactor transported by air (World Nuclear News, 2026-02-18) news “The Ward250 could provide power to about 5,000 homes.”
• At just 27 years old, this entrepreneur is remaking America's energy industry (Deseret News, 2026-03-17) news “flew with the five-megawatt reactor aboard three Air Force cargo planes”
• Valar’s Ward 250 reaches criticality in Utah (American Nuclear Society (Nuclear Newswire), 2026-06-22) news
• NEPA Determination DOE-ID-26-005: Valar Ward250 Research Reactor (categorical exclusion B5.26) (U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy, 2026-04-22)
• Ward250 Nuclear Safety Design Agreement, No. 100403, Rev. 02 (status: Draft), Table 2 and Appendix B (Valar Atomics (Public Documents), 2025-10) primary company “Not required for application”