University of Pennsylvania energy expert Joseph Romm has outlined big problems with small modular reactors, which are mobile nuclear power plants heralded by other researchers as a way to meet growing data center demand.
What's happening?
Romm recently made public his report that called SMRs a "false promise."
His reasons include cost overruns proved partly by China's inability to build SMRs fast and on budget as well as President Donald Trump's tariff plan's impact on component supplies.
"Any success the U.S. might have with SMRs depends on … foreign components. So, Trump's ever-shifting tariffs — as well as his alienation of major U.S. trading partners like Canada and Europe — make SMRs an even riskier bet," Romm said in the statement.
SMRs are being developed by Westinghouse and other companies for use at remote locations with reported success. Other versions could power ships, as well. Most of the projects started well before Trump's policies took effect.
The on-and-off tariffs are intended to reinvigorate American manufacturing, though most of the economic moves have "roiled" markets, per Reuters. On the energy front, Trump's plan is to "unleash" dirty fossil fuels, along with cleaner hydropower and nuclear energy, by removing regulatory barriers, according to White House statements.
Why are Romm's findings important?
SMRs could be an answer to powering data center demand that Goldman Sachs estimated will increase 165% by 2030. Government data showed that the power-hungry operations sucked up 4.4% of U.S. electricity in 2023.
That's what makes Romm's report, which cited an over-budget $35 billion Georgia nuclear plant and "canceled SMR proposals," so disappointing. What's more, the sentiment is echoed by physicist Amory Lovins, co-founder of Colorado energy think tank RMI. He told The Cool Down that nuclear power is too expensive to develop for grid support when compared to solar and wind. Both experts recommend cleaner renewables.
"Any company or country that wants to power data centers or their economy with low-cost, low-risk, very low-carbon, reliable, and safe power that can be built in a timely fashion should be … building solar, wind, and battery storage now … [and] commercializing enhanced geothermal power over the next few years so it can be scaled up as the core affordable carbonfree baseload and dispatchable power post-2030," Romm's report concluded.
What's nuclear's future?
While Romm and Lovins consider nuclear investment ill-advised, there are still projects making headlines in addition to Westinghouse's SMRs. Microsoft is working to reopen a portion of the infamous Three Mile Island to offset computing use, for example.
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Which of these factors would most effectively convince you to support nuclear energy projects in your area? Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
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Its future will likely be determined by the success or failure of SMRs and other projects, as well as by academic debate and government policy — or an incredible breakthrough.
In the meantime, solar energy remains a viable option for large-scale and home-based projects as we shift to cleaner sources. Valuable tax credits can help homeowners install a system, which a government study found saves the average household $700 a year after expenses.
For an immediate win, simply unplug your unused chargers and devices at night to bank around $165 annually in bill reductions.
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