Small modular nuclear reactors get a reality check in new report(newatlas.com)
newatlas.com
Small modular nuclear reactors get a reality check in new report
https://newatlas.com/energy/modular-nuclear-reactors/
2 comments
Yes, it is a slam piece.
SMRs can only become cheap when they are built at scale. Zero have been built to far, so at this point they are infinitely expensive. When the first few will be built, they will still be quite expensive. But they hold the potential to become as cheap as the SpaceX rockets became compared to those built by the rest of the industry. It's just technology after all, there is no law of nature that it has to stay expensive forever.
SMRs can only become cheap when they are built at scale. Zero have been built to far, so at this point they are infinitely expensive. When the first few will be built, they will still be quite expensive. But they hold the potential to become as cheap as the SpaceX rockets became compared to those built by the rest of the industry. It's just technology after all, there is no law of nature that it has to stay expensive forever.
That's their conclusion. The costs were very high on the initial projects. But they were still an order of magnitude cheaper than big nuclear projects.
It took many times the expected schedule to complete. But that's not all on the reactor construction - legal and regulatory obstructions are responsible for (much?) of that.
Too risky? They gave no evidence whatsoever. Just guessing there. They admitted that.
Not sure this is anything but a slam piece.