Small Reactors, Big Comeback: How SMRs may revitalize America's Nuclear Industry

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) settled a $1.52 billion loan to restart the Palisades nuclear plant. The plant, shuttered in 2022 due to financial issues after 50 years of operation, will be the first U.S. nuclear plant to be reopened after being closed for decommissioning. On the same site, Holtec International is also planning on building two small modular reactors (SMR) that will each produce 300 MW net electric output. Currently, Holtec is engaged in pre-application activities for its SMR-300 designs under the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The first and only SMR design  certified by the US NRC for build and operation was created by NuScale in 2023- but none have been built. Holtec's "Mission 2030" is competing to build the first SMR-300 reactors in the U.S. by 2030.

The Palisades plant, closed since 2022, is set to reopen in 2025 and unveil SMRs by 2030. Photo credit: Entergy

What are SMRs?

Small Modular Reactors, or SMRs, are small nuclear fission reactors developed with the intent to reduce cost, land requirement, and construction time while promoting safety and efficiency. Holtec’s SMR-300 installation is projected to occupy 7.41 acres, compared to over 640 acres for a typical 1000 MW nuclear facility. Furthermore, while building large nuclear stations often costs over 6 billion dollars and requires almost a decade of construction, SMRs can be built in factories in as quickly as 24 months. Though their 300MWe maximum energy output is only around ⅓ that of larger reactors, one SMR still produces enough to power a small city and could be especially helpful in remote areas with limited transmission lines and grid capacity. Additionally, power plants can use SMRs to incrementally increase capacity, matching growing energy needs without committing to large reactors and risking large capital expenditures upfront. 

Proponents list economic advantages as additional important benefits of SMRs, because of potential lower up-front costs, and faster construction times. The standardization and mass manufacturing from factory-based production could also lead to cost reduction. However, the financial benefit of SMRs is highly debated: smaller reactors may not benefit from the economies of scale that make larger reactors cost-effective on a cost-per-megawatt basis, and the need for new supply chains and regulatory hurdles also threaten the financial viability of the technology. 

Additionally, the nuclear waste from large-scale SMR implementation could be a concern. Though they have smaller fuel requirements than traditional reactors and many SMR advocates consider reduced waste production as one of SMRs’ merits, a recent joint study from UBC and Stanford University found that water-, molten salt-, and sodium- cooled- SMRs will increase the volume of nuclear waste in need of disposal by factors of 2-30 compared to large light-water reactors, and produce more chemically and physically reactive spent fuel. 

Finally, geopolitical tensions have negatively impacted the small reactors’ development. Currently, the only countries that have successfully built the reactors are Russia and China, and many SMR designs use highly uranium-enriched (HEU) fuel - which currently is only supplied by Russia. Sanctions and import bans on Russian goods have led to delays and supply chain uncertainty for Western nations’ SMR development.

SMRs in BC?

SMRs are gaining traction in the USA and across the world but do not currently have a future in British Columbia. While Canada has four major SMR projects currently underway and a Small Modular Reactor Action Plan for their development and deployment, BC maintains legislation against nuclear power of any kind. The Clean Energy Act, passed in 2010, prohibits both uranium mining and nuclear energy generation in the province. This has become a contentious political issue: John Rustad, Conservative politician and Leader of the Opposition in BC’s Legislative Assembly, has called for the province to reconsider its nuclear energy ban. With a push for clean energy and BC Hydro estimating that electricity demand will increase by 15% by 2030, nuclear power could be a viable option for the future.