So-called Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) come with big problems. That’s the conclusion of a new analysis by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), which finds that SMRs are “Too Expensive, Too Slow and Too Risky” to be a viable climate solution.
The report does an excellent job of cutting through the hype around this dubious and not-so-new technology, from current SMR projects that finished years behind schedule to soaring cost estimates from major SMR developers, including GE-Hitachi, the suppliers for Ontario Power Generation’s proposed units at the Darlington Nuclear Station.
The authors also point out that the core concept of “modular” construction that is supposed to drive down costs for these reactors is a “tried and failed” approach that is very unlikely to solve the central nuclear conundrum of high costs and long construction timelines.
This is a very useful analysis because it is based on real-world data, not the happy talk PowerPoint presentations that the nuclear industry uses to sway gullible governments into supporting unproven technologies. One of its key findings is that the nuclear industry is working hard to shift cost risks onto ratepayers (and, in the case of Ontario, taxpayers) rather than providing fixed cost bids, which are standard in the renewable energy industry.
That makes sense for the nuclear industry because despite their own hype, they know full well that costs on these projects can quickly spiral out of control and that even their most optimistic cost scenarios are not competitive with current renewable plus storage prices.
It’s not by chance that Ontario consumers are being used as SMR guinea pigs by Ontario Power Generation and GE-Hitachi. Few other jurisdictions are willing to write blank cheques for such a dubious plan.
Rather than being suckered again by a nuclear industry that has never finished a major new construction project on time or on budget, let’s get serious about tripling our wind and solar power instead.
Please contact Ontario’s new Minister of Energy and Electrification, Stephen Lecce, and ask him to triple our wind and solar power by 2035 to phase-out gas power and lower our electricity bills.