Nuclear energy has not only revived in recent months.
We are heading towards the “long-awaited” according to many experts, including energy secretary Chris Wright American nuclear renaissance. ”
The United States has largely ignored or ignored it since the end of the Cold War. However, last year, 25 states passed legislation supporting advanced nuclear energy. Including New York. It's well done 200 invoices This year, which supports or subsidizes nuclear energy, has already been implemented.
Utah Senator Stuart Adams said that Utah had “The country's nuclear hub”, Greg Abbott, Gov. of Texas. I declared His state is “ready to become number one in advanced nuclear power.” The race is set to become the country's nuclear leader, with the state falling millions and giving itself an edge.
It's not harmful that public opinion about nuclear power is changing or at least softening. Last year, Pew Research The majority of the US reportedor 56% support the country's expansion of nuclear power generation. More than 10 years ago in 2014, Only 41% Americans shared this view.
But when we return to this day of nuclear energy glory, as usual, there is no business. Instead of the mammoth reactors that dominated the last century, new reactors are being developed, smaller, cheaper, and with safety measures that were unthinkable in the 3-mile island era.
From advanced nuclear reactor designs to nuclear fuel and waste management solutions, there are at least 90 different nuclear technologies in various development stages around the world. Nuclear Energy Agency.
The most attention-grabbing and most likely to be a wave of the (nuclear) future is a small modular reactor or SMR. They produce just a small portion of the energy produced by traditional nuclear reactors, which is around 300 megawatts instead of the 1,000 megawatts of traditional nuclear reactors.
“We've seen a lot of effort into making it easier to understand,” said Brendan Kotunas, an assistant professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Michigan.
“It's like choosing between a huge coach bus that travels 70 people at a time and a few passenger vans each traveling 15 people at a time,” says Kotunas. “It's easier to build a van and deploy it faster. It's easier to run the number of vans you need.”
The technology is so promising that technology companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Meta are all investing in SMRS to handle rising power needs. last month, A Russian envoy proposed His country will be willing to offer SpaceX CEO Elon Musk a small reactor to help his deep spatial ambitions. “I believe Russia has a lot to offer a mission to Mars,” declared Kiril Dmitriev.
The biggest selling point for a small reactor is its price. “We've seen a lot of effort into making it easier to understand,” said Michael Craig, an assistant professor of energy systems at the University of Michigan. “Through mass production, SMRs are cheaper than large-scale nuclear reactors and may have less trends in significant cost overruns and delays during construction.”
The high cost of traditional plants means they can take years, sometimes decades. Georgia's two full-size reactors were the first new nuclear power plants to be built in decades, taking 15 years, seven years behind schedule, and spent twice its $14 billion budget.
SMR is especially useful for data centers. About 65% of the capacity of the Global Center is owned by Only 3 companies: Google, Microsoft, Amazon. And that ability is expected Double by 2027reach the estimate 122 gigawatts by 2030according to a study by Goldman Sachs, or about 12 times what is needed to empower everything in New York City. During the summer (when the air conditioner is running).
It's not just about rising electricity costs – some reports predict we can see 70% increase in electricity bills By 2030 – But the electricity demand is non-stop.
“There's a consumer expectation that the internet is always available,” says Kotunas. “You can shop on Amazon any time. These companies save money by powering nuclear data centers rather than powering them from the grid.”
The advancement of AI is another major reason for the growing need for power. “The local and international power grids do not have the capacity to supply the amount of electricity that is expected to fuel AI,” said Elsa Nightingale, a leading ESG analyst at global technology research firm Canalys. By 2030, AI is projected to account for 11.7% of US electricity demand. “Do you want a hypothetical future where technology companies compete with hospitals for electricity?” Nightingale asks.
Other technologies are on the horizon. This appears to be a next-generation nuclear reactor that uses molten salt as primary fuel. “This makes the reactor more efficient while operating at higher temperatures and operating at lower pressures,” says Dr. Rusty Towell, director of the Nuclear Energy Experimental Testing Laboratory.Next Lab) At Abilene Christian University. Additionally, the reactor chamber contains a “freeze plug.” This will cause salt/fuel slurry to be discharged into the underground tank in the event of a power outage.
Towell is directly involved in the development of molten salt reactors. Last September, the Nuclear Regulation Authority Construction license issued It will enable ACU Towell and his fellow researchers to begin building the 1-MWT Research Reactor, the country's first molten salt fuel reactor.
But not everyone was impressed. Union of concern scientists released a Report in 2021 It suggests that “advanced” nuclear technology, including sodium-cooled high-speed reactors, hot gas-cooled reactors and molten salt fuel reactors, “poses even more safety, growth and environmental risks than the current fleet.”
Still, nuclear advocates argue that they are much cleaner than fossil fuels like gas and coal because they don't generate carbon emissions, and the evidence seems to support them. In January, the Natural Resources Defense Council was released Environmental evaluation In the case of SMR, they concluded that air and water quality, local ecology, and animal habitats “has no significant cumulative effect.”
But the reassuring reports from environmental advocacy groups are not enough to reassure everyone. They also rarely feel that many Americans have even a small nuclear power plant in their backyards is okay. 56% of nuclear energy support said nothing about nuclear reactors rising on the streets.
“Humans aren't always good at assessing risk,” says Kotunas. “We can be afraid to swim in the ocean as we may hit a little by little by a shark, but we are not at all afraid of driving in a car, despite the much more likely chance we are from the sharks.”
The challenge for the future isn't just to make people realize that nuclear power is safe, he says. feel He says it's safe.
Matthew McKinzie, senior director of data and policy analysis for the Natural Resources Defense Council, is not convinced yet. He says he posts SMR has the same risk as other nuclear power plants, as “just small size.” He continues to worry about the safety features of SMRs and the potential environmental impact “including nuclear waste management.”
However, Cotunas argues that SMR is “not likely to have a catastrophic meltdown like a three-mile island.” It's like the difference between a car accident involving a semi-truck and a sedan. “Both are really bad, but the sedan is much smaller and naturally suffers less damage.”
So far, China and Russia have only two SMRs operated worldwide. Only two US companies, Nuscale Power Corp. and Natura Resources, have received federal permits to build SMRs; I cancelled their plans In 2023, “we don't want to take on the risks associated with developing a total nuclear project,” citing lack of interest from local power providers in Idaho. Natura is still going well to start Test Reactor In Texas in 2027.
Craig says he hopes nuclear energy will find its footing. McKinzie is similarly reluctant to be too bullish. “The industry has promised for years that low-cost, safe, reliable nuclear energy is about to be around the corner,” he says. “It could be different this time, but we're waiting to see if the industry offers it.”
But Nightingale adds, they may not have much choice. Global consumption of electricity last year 4.3% jumpedAccording to the International Energy Agency.
Electricity usage in some parts of the country Can exceed supply within just a few yearswarns management consulting company Bain & Company.
“The problem is not about supply, it's about demand,” says Nightingale. “The world's largest technology companies must innovate to deal with and dramatically reduce the astronomical power demand for AI.” For better or worse, nuclear energy may be our best and perhaps only option.
