One might be surprised to find an article on nuclear power¹ in the inaugural volume of a journal focused on emerging technology.  Nuclear power plants have existed for over half a century and represent a sizeable fraction of the world’s electricity generation.²  The nuclear power industry is not emerging, but mature—and perhaps even overmature.³

But there is news to report.  In August of 2019, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) held a final hearing on a proposal by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to locate a new nuclear power facility at its Clinch River site in central Tennessee.⁴  Earlier that year, the NRC noted its support for the proposal in an Environmental Impact Statement; a site permit is likely forthcoming.⁵  Why are the TVA and the NRC moving forward with a new nuclear plant at a time when nuclear power is otherwise in dire straits?  Because both entities believe that the proposed plant may avoid the industry’s travails by employing a so-called small modular reactor (SMR).⁶

SMRs bear little external resemblance to the reactors within the existing fleet of nuclear power plants: they are a fraction of the size; they can be powered up and down in response to changes in demand; and they can be manufactured centrally, rather than on-site.⁷  It is too soon to tell, of course, whether SMRs represent the future of the nuclear power industry, let alone whether they can save that industry from its present woes.  But in an era in which electricity markets are in flux,⁸ and in which fossil fuels are increasingly disfavored in public policy,⁹ SMRs may have an important role to play.  Their potential depends entirely on their ability to overcome the industry’s most serious vulnerability: namely, the high capital costs associated with the construction of new nuclear power plants.

This article explores SMRs.  It begins by explaining the regulatory and economic structure of the electricity sector in the United States.  It then describes the current state of nuclear power before examining SMRs in particular—how they differ from conventional nuclear reactors, what regulatory issues they will confront, and what factors will most directly shape their long-term potential.