Today, Power Switch is bringing two big stories to readers — one on nuclear power and the other a political bombshell. A highly anticipated advanced nuclear energy project was scrapped this week, signaling that the technology may have a rocky future despite billions of dollars in federal investment. NuScale Power and a group of local electric utilities announced on Wednesday that they’re abandoning plans to build six first-of-a-kind modular reactors near Idaho Falls, Idaho, writes Zach Bright. The project was set to receive as much as $1.4 billion from the Department of Energy — in a so-called cost-share deal — but couldn’t attract enough power s. Small, factory-built reactors have long been touted as a possible lifeline for the nation's aging nuclear sector and a carbon-free way to replace retiring coal-fired power plants. But some experts have questioned whether the industry can grow fast enough to curb power emissions. “It could be seen as another notch towards the idea of ‘this is a bit more hype than reality,’” said Eric Gimon, a senior fellow for energy think tank Energy Innovation. Electricity from the NuScale reactors, he said, was ultimately too costly for local utilities. Despite the setback, advanced reactors continue to have strong support, offering a rare middle ground for Republican nuclear boosters and climate-minded Democrats. "This was never going to be easy. Should we be concerned? Sure," said Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.). "We also need to realize that we need to innovate in this space and not all the startups are gonna make it." But trouble is brewing on Capitol Hill for advanced reactors, writes Nico Portuondo. A Senate-passed bill to boost the technology — by reducing licensing fees and offering incentives — could get blocked by House Republicans who object to the bill hitching a ride on the National Defense Authorization Act. ‘Bump in the road’ The NuScale project was originally scheduled to be operational by 2026. But cost overruns and delays spooked utilities, prompting several to withdraw from a 2019 agreement to buy power from the reactors once completed. The Department of Energy has so far invested $232 million into the project and plans to take ownership of both data and equipment to recoup much of that investment, said DOE senior official Alice Caponiti. She emphasized that the agency “remains committed to doing everything we can to deploy these technologies to combat the climate crisis.” Josh Freed, the head of climate and energy at Third Way, a center-left think tank, said the project’s failure is merely a “bump in the road” for small modular reactors given that the technology is being developed on a global scale. “It only raises the question of whether it is U.S. companies and the U.S. government support that deploys small modular advanced nuclear globally or whether it's authoritarian regimes like China and Russia,” said Freed. Although small modular reactors aren’t baked into near-term climate goals, they could be critical for achieving the Biden administration’s goal of a carbon-free electricity grid by 2035. Experts say some form of “dispatchable” energy — like nuclear, long-duration energy storage or hydrogen — is needed to fully decarbonize the grid.
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