It’s hard to see how any of the nuclear hype becomes real unless Congress is ready to ignore market signals, nationalize the electricity sector, and rebuild an industrial infrastructure that disappeared decades ago.

The Vogtle project is expected to cost customers a total of $35.7 billion, which is $20.5 billion more than the initial budget. Georgia Power is also requesting an advance payment of $913 per ratepayer, with additional charges likely. Bryan Jacob from the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy believes that “Ratepayers shouldn’t foot the bill for things that management could have done right in the first place,”

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 nuclear costs remain high – with half of the world’s installed nuclear capacity over 30 years old and coming to the end of its life – new small scale nuclear reactors (SMRs) won’t contribute to any strong reduction of cost.

Electricity from a new nuclear plant today is estimated to cost four times more than power from new wind and solar facilities. Countries look to public money to fund these new small modular nuclear projects because private financiers are unwilling to risk investing in production lines and reactors that could prove uneconomic. 

While renewables costs have dropped 90% over the last decade, nuclear costs have risen 33% say Brigham Young University researchers and other authors in a recent report. With increased cost and development delays, new “next-generation” nuclear plants won’t be completed for 10 to 20 years, the report notes, and even then nuclear costs are expected to be at least double what renewables are today. 

A new report from Taxpayers for Commonsense explains how the UAMPS/NuScale project contributes to a long history of taxpayer money down the drain for nuclear projects, finding that “ever-increasing subsidies cannot solve the nuclear energy industry’s costly flaws.”

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.

The Citizens Utility Board of Oregon -- which advocates for affordable, accessible, reliable and clean electricity for Oregonians -- explains concerns over financing, fuel supply, radioactive waste disposal and other uncertainties that could send costs skyrocketing for a small modular nuclear plant being proposed to provide power for Oregon.

Two nuclear experts take a close look at the small modular reactor proposed for Wyoming and conclude that residents are likely left with a lemon for a range of safety, technical and economic factors. These include very expensive molten salt storage, fire risk from sodium-cooled reactors, and a track record of leaks and other operational problems for this technology at other locations.

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation have told the U.S. Department of Energy that they do not support a small modular reactor proposal from X-energy at the Hanford Nuclear Site, as there is no solution for the hazardous waste that is already a problem at Hanford from plutonium production during WWII. "Some of these larger cleanup sites like the Hanford site represent some of the largest environmental injustice sites," says the tribe's energy and environmental science program manager.

The nuclear power industry continues to grapple with rising costs, uncertain demand and a risky future, according to The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2021. The report notes widespread construction delays, cost overruns, and other factors that contributed to high costs and low output over the previous year. This applies to SMR technology in the United States as well, where "[t]here are thus no new signs that of a major breakthrough for SMRs, neither technologically nor commercially."

With the need for the development of a different form of uranium in order to function—and no supply chain in place—most of the new proposed smaller reactors face significant delay and fundamental challenge to their commercial viability. 

Wyoming writer David Romvedt sounds an alarm on TerraPower’s proposed nuclear power plant, signaling that timelines, generation costs and economics for his state may be big problems.

The president of Utah Taxpayers Association makes the case that small nuclear reactors are a shaky investment for Utah’s municipalities because of rising costs and a process which involves the public’s money that has been less than transparent.

TFIE Strategy’s Michael Barnard explains that most of the small modular nuclear reactor innovations being touted as the new really aren’t. “In the seven decades since the first SMR was commissioned, 57 different designs and concepts have been designed, developed and, rarely, built,” he notes. The article explores concerns with SMR economics, security, decommissioning and more. 

TFIE Strategy’s Michael Barnard explains that most of the small modular nuclear reactor innovations being touted as the new really aren’t. “In the seven decades since the first SMR was commissioned, 57 different designs and concepts have been designed, developed and, rarely, built,” he notes. The article explores concerns with SMR economics, security, decommissioning and more.

Climate change increases the possibility of power outages, including at nuclear plants. A new study by Ali Ahmad from Harvard University points to stricter safety regulations for nuclear plants as they struggle to get back online after a power outage.

A Union of Concerned Scientists’ analysis, ‘Advanced’ Isn’t Always Better, argues that in addition to their long development timelines and costs, smaller, non-light-water reactor designs do not meet essential criteria to be safer and more secure than existing reactors.

Cost overruns are often left out of nuclear industry projections and are overlooked in the design process. MIT researchers analyzed five decades of industry data on construction cost from 107 U.S. nuclear plants from 1967-2017, finding constant cost overruns in several areas. Safety requirements, material cost and low productivity were all examined.

In an in-depth report on the UAMPS/NuScale proposed SMR project for Idaho Falls, University of British Columbia’s Dr. M.V. Ramana finds that increasing project and electricity costs, lengthy schedule delays, and nuclear waste disposal issues could be a significant albatross for participating municipalities.

An Energy Strategies analysis commissioned by HEAL Utah examined the costs of small nuclear reactors in comparison with alternative low- or non-carbon emitting energy options. The study found that alternative options were roughly 40% cheaper and pointed out that major utilities and venture capital firms have rejected SMRs as a poor risk.