US bets on small nuclear reactors to help fix a huge climate problem
Georgia, the first nuclear reactors built from scratch in the United States in more than 30 years illustrate the enormous promise of nuclear power — and its most glaring weakness.
The two new reactors at the Vogtle nuclear power plant will join two older units to create enough electricity to power 2 million homes, 24 hours a day, without emitting any of the carbon dioxide that is dangerously heating the planet.
But those colossal reactors cost $35 billion, more than double the original estimates, and arrived seven years behind schedule. That's why no one else is planning to build large reactors in the United States.
Instead, the great hope for the future of nuclear power is to go small.
Nearly a dozen companies are developing reactors that are a fraction of the size of those at Vogtle, betting that they will be quicker and cheaper to build.
As the United States looks to transition away from fossil fuels that have underpinned its economy for 150 years, nuclear power is getting renewed interest, billions of dollars from the Biden administration and support from Republicans.
One reason is that nuclear plants can run at all hours, in any season. To those looking to replace coal and gas with wind and solar energy, nuclear power can provide a vital backstop when the air is calm or the sky is cloudy.
«The United States is now committed to trying to accelerate the deployment of nuclear energy,» John Kerry, President Joe Biden's climate envoy, said in September.
