{"id":13624,"date":"2024-10-24T19:28:56","date_gmt":"2024-10-24T19:28:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=13624"},"modified":"2024-10-24T20:04:15","modified_gmt":"2024-10-24T20:04:15","slug":"the-dawn-of-viable-small-modular-nuclear-reactors-and-why-wisconsin-should-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=13624","title":{"rendered":"The dawn of viable small modular nuclear reactors \u2014 and why Wisconsin should care\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post originally appeared at https:\/\/www.badgerinstitute.org\/the-dawn-of-viable-small-modular-nuclear-reactors-and-why-wisconsin-should-care\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Gov. Evers, please take note of those big Google and Amazon nuclear deals<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Google announced a big deal the other day to purchase energy in the next five to 10 years from a fleet of seven new small nuclear modular reactors (SMRs) capable of powering\u00a0artificial intelligence technology.<\/p>\n

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Right after that, Amazon announced new agreements that will help build four SMRs in the Pacific Northwest beginning in the early 2030s, and said it would explore an additional SMR in Virginia.<\/p>\n

The deals with a variety of utilities and nuclear technology companies could easily add over 1,000 megawatts of power \u2014 enough to power a fairly large city or a couple of AI data centers.<\/p>\n

These are monumental developments for the big tech and reactor companies. But they are also a big deal for Wisconsin, given our developing AI economy<\/a> and Gov. Tony Evers\u2019 2022 Clean Energy Plan.<\/p>\n

The Clean Energy Plan states that \u201cit is possible that advanced nuclear technologies may become economically and environmentally viable. If this happens, Wisconsin must be able to take advantage of nuclear as a potential clean energy source.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdvanced nuclear<\/a>\u201d is often a way of referring to SMRs. Kairos, Google\u2019s nuclear technology partner, is developing a molten-salt cooling system that is said to allow the reactor to operate at low pressure, enabling a simpler, more affordable, nuclear reactor design.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re still a number of years off from seeing a working SMR in the United States. But it\u2019s clear the smartest minds and more than one of the wealthiest companies on earth believe it\u2019s more than possible and that we are close.<\/p>\n

In Wisconsin, that means we could be on the cusp of one of those rare moments when Republicans and Democrats can agree on a viable solution to one of our most vexing problems \u2014 how to responsibly and reliably produce enough energy to help us prosper at a time when many politicians are trying to phase out coal and natural gas as energy sources. Nuclear can reliably and continuously provide power that other \u201cclean\u201d energy sources such as wind and solar cannot.<\/p>\n

Then again, such agreement is unlikely to happen without a continued shift in public sentiment.<\/p>\n

As commentator James Pethokoukis has written<\/a>,\u00a0 \u201cSocietal license or societal consent is something the sector lost in the 1970s. In a democracy, nuclear energy needs it as much as it needs to meet regulatory standards and economic viability.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBottom line,\u201d he writes, \u201cNuclear technology back then and continuing through today seemed too costly and too scary to too many Americans \u2014 including those environmentalists who saw it as too enabling of techno-capitalism, safe or not. Building and maintaining societal consent will be crucial to keep the current nuclear moment going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evers could help that by taking a fresh look at his Clean Energy Plan \u2014 and reminding everyone Wisconsin needs to put itself in a position to, as it said, \u201ctake advantage of nuclear.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike Nichols is the President of the Badger Institute.<\/em><\/p>\n

Any\u00a0use or reproduction of Badger Institute articles or photographs requires prior written\u00a0permission.\u00a0To request permission to post articles on a website or print copies for distribution, contact Badger Institute President Mike Nichols at\u00a0mike@badgerinstitute.org<\/a>\u00a0or 262-389-8239.<\/em><\/p>\n

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