Tech companies and policymakers are betting big on small modular reactors to revive the long-stagnant U.S. nuclear industry and power a boom in artificial intelligence.
But that future is far from guaranteed, according to leading voices from academia, industry and government who recently gathered on Microsoft Teams to talk to POLITICO’s E&E News about the promises and pitfalls of a nuclear revival. Together, they debated whether SMRs are a breakthrough for clean energy or a repeat of nuclear’s expensive past — grappling with challenges from factory fabrication to regulation, public trust and cost.
“Small modular reactors: is that the future of nuclear power? At the moment, my crystal ball says no,” said Allison Macfarlane, a former chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission who is now director of the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia.
“The future of nuclear always hangs on economics,” Macfarlane said. “The reason why we have large reactors all around the world is because of economies of scale. It is cheaper to build one large reactor than 10 small ones.”
