Can Small Modular Reactors really help mitigate climate change?

Several countries and advocates for nuclear energy are promoting what are called Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), a set of theoretical nuclear reactor designs, as a way to mitigate climate change. Policy makers have been putting in place financial and political incentives for building new reactors and associated facilities. As a way to assess the likelihood of SMRs actually contributing to climate mitigation, this talk will first outline the current trends in nuclear energy, especially the declining share of electricity provided by nuclear plants around the world, followed by an account of the experiences with the newest set of large nuclear reactor projects, specifically how the historical problems of high cost, cost escalation, and construction delays have also afflicted these projects. Finally, the talk will present an evaluation of the claims that small modular reactor designs will solve the problems confronting nuclear energy, in particular the high costs of generating electricity at nuclear reactors.