Small modular nuclear plants don’t exist yet and their economics is, shall we say, very uncertain, but they’re a satisfying dollop of wishful thinking for folks wanting simple energy answers.
An example from the Brattleboro Reformer, via VT Digger:
Vermont Public Service Commissioner Kerrick Johnson told the Vernon Selectboard on Tuesday evening that a new, small modular nuclear reactor might be a good fit at the Vermont Yankee site, which is almost cleared of the former 600-megawatt reactor that shut down in 2014.
The site, of course, is valuable because it has great connections to the grid. Last I heard the idea was to stick a utility-scale battery site there, bringing in the fastest-growing technology in the energy transition. That makes a ton of sense but the dream of a nuke plant that is somehow cheap (“modular!”) and won’t scare Vermont (“small!”) dies hard.
Yes, it’s too bad they shut Vermont Yankee in 2014, which fell mostly to public sentiment before we realized how bad climate change was, although cost was also part of the concern as was hazardous waste. The one remnant that will remain is a building holding used fuel rods and reactor parts too radioactive for low-level waste disposal.
