The president for the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research takes a look at options for reliable power that are far cheaper than nuclear.

The author of the latest World Nuclear Industry Status Report warns that Putin's shelling of nuclear power plants in Ukraine raises sharp concerns about the risks of building small modular reactors (SMRs) that can't be hardened against attack. "No nuclear power plant in the world has been designed to operate under wartime conditions," report author Mycle Schneider says. "Because SMRs have been and will be, like large reactors, subject to delays and cost overruns, there is no identifiable scenario under which they could become economical under these circumstances."

"The median construction time of the nuclear reactors in operation in 2020 was seven years, and the industry has a terrible track record of cost overruns." The next nuclear plant to become operational in the U.S., Plant Vogtle in Georgia, will cost over $34 billion, about $15.3 million per megawatt.

Safety shortcuts taken by the industry, lax regulation of day-to-day safety practices at the plants, assurances provided without proof... A deep dive into the history of the safety risks. "The fact that nuclear power has fallen on its face when it is needed most is a hint that it is not the key to world energy security."

As the small modular nuclear industry explores more markets, local concerns arise around the use of water from lakes and rivers, the threat of severe accidents, radioactive waste, and uncompetitive costs born by families. Dr. Maureen McCue, a practicing primary care physician and Dr. M. V. Ramana from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada weigh in.

The founder of the conservative Wyoming Liberty Group is concerned about a nuclear plant in the state. "In June of 2021 Natrium’s demonstration project rode into Wyoming with a 'new' idea and promises of jobs, subsidies, promises of subsidies and talk of economic prosperity. The horse has a pretty color, but can it run? What’s the price?" ... "Roughly, if a monthly household electric bill were $85 for natural gas energy, the bill would be about $255 for nuclear reactor energy."

“Our results show that most small modular reactor designs will actually increase the volume of nuclear waste in need of management and disposal, by factors of 2 to 30.... These findings stand in sharp contrast to the cost and waste reduction benefits that advocates have claimed for advanced nuclear technologies.”

After officials of Pueblo, Colorado invited Oregon-based NuScale to give a presentation on how its small modular reactors could replace the Comanche Generating Station, the largest coal power plant in the state, many Puebloans criticized the county in local newspapers. The city has now refocused on its commitment to looking at all potential replacement technologies to transition to 100 percent renewable energy by 2035.

The independent Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) finds that the NuScale project will cost far more than the company claims, take much longer to build, and pose serious financial risks for the members of the Utah Associated Municipal Power System (UAMPS) and other municipalities and utilities that sign up for the project’s power.

As wind and solar become so much cheaper and faster to power lives and economies, myths are propagated against them designed to bolster options like nuclear. In fact, the authors point out, nuclear plants are regularly and often out of action and nuclear plant interruptions have become seven times more frequent in the past decade as a result of climate and weather-related factors.