Does Nuclear Energy Have a Future in the US? A Promising Technology could be reactors scaled down to small size, known as small modular reactors or SMRs

American Thinker ^ | 06/19/2022 | William Levin

[shotgun]

I was a pipefitter back when WPPSS killed off their plans to build 5 nukes in Washington State, completing only 1 unit.

They had 3 designs; Plant 2 was a standalone GE BWR, Plants 1&4 were next door to Plant 2 at Hanford and were Westinghouse PWR units, and Plants 3&5 were also Westinghouse PWR units in Satsop (Aberdeen).

Plants 1 & 3 were fraught with re-design and cost overruns. By the time they broke ground on 4&5 they had those issues resolved and construction on those units was outpacing their twins. But it was too late. WPPSS defaulted on $25 billion in bonds, and they were doomed.

Only Plant 2 (this was actually the 1st plant started) survived and was completed in 1984.

I also worked on Palo Verde which built 3 identical plants outside of Phoenix. They had the same issue with their Plant 1 but the next two were each completed faster than the one before it.

Why the US decided to have virtually all of their nukes designed as 1-off custom units was stupid and at the end of the day was part of the public perception problem. Cost + Danger (real and fabricated), killed it

[Adder]

I can see that. I agree it’s a good concept.
Next will be years of site battles by greenies opposed to anything.

[Adder]

Will these be any different?
[I hope so but history says no.]