bert hubert 🇺🇦🇪🇺🇺🇦'In practice, a “small” reactor brings all the big problems of a conventional reactor: dangerous radioactive fuel, complex safety systems, and the risk of catastrophic failure or sabotage. The only thing that’s truly small about SMRs is their inability to benefit from the economies of scale that, in theory, were supposed to make large reactors affordable — but never actually did.' - https://www.climateandcapitalmedia.com/the-nuclear-mirage-why-small-modular-reactors-wont-save-nuclear-power/
Keith Williams@bert_hubert The key supposed advantage of "small" reactors was the modularity of construction thus lowering marginal deployment costs. It has nothing to do with safety. Nuclear has a future _only_ as a stop-gap for peaker replacement until modular energy storage tech levelizes renewables. The author never addresses this nor the very different architectures of molten salt and other modern designs.
@bonsai because the article is not about renewables perhaps? Bit odd to complain that this is a different article than you assumed.
@bert_hubert That doesn't take away from author's myopic thesis failing to address the fundamentals of the technology wrt its goals, evolution, and alternatives. It's akin to saying the future of all apples is red when a few green ones exist now and hybrids are also being developed.