You say that nuclear isn't the solution because the bottleneck is in transmission. But if (big if) small modular reactors can be sited where the need is, stood up quickly, and moved if the demand changes, then transmission doesn't matter as much.
SMRs are being explored for big single-site loads like datacenters, but they're not as suitable for in-fill electrification-driven load growth in urban areas, even if they were as effective (and mobile) as you're describing.
Very fair. With the caveat that this is waaaay outside my area of expertise (hence the interview format)...I recently went to a talk by someone working on modular reactors who said the the regulatory regime was completely intractable, so they were orienting their entire business around selling to DoD as military tech.
And I might have been a bit hyperbolic here with the titling. As far as I can tell, nuclear is probably a necessary (just not wholly sufficient) part of the solution.
@sean might have a more nuanced response here, though!
Agreed, but those small modular reactors must first be cost-competitive with natural gas to be a viable solution. Currently, they are a long way away, and they may never get there. I hope they do but I am a Techno-Realist.
You say that nuclear isn't the solution because the bottleneck is in transmission. But if (big if) small modular reactors can be sited where the need is, stood up quickly, and moved if the demand changes, then transmission doesn't matter as much.
SMRs are being explored for big single-site loads like datacenters, but they're not as suitable for in-fill electrification-driven load growth in urban areas, even if they were as effective (and mobile) as you're describing.
Very fair. With the caveat that this is waaaay outside my area of expertise (hence the interview format)...I recently went to a talk by someone working on modular reactors who said the the regulatory regime was completely intractable, so they were orienting their entire business around selling to DoD as military tech.
And I might have been a bit hyperbolic here with the titling. As far as I can tell, nuclear is probably a necessary (just not wholly sufficient) part of the solution.
@sean might have a more nuanced response here, though!
Agreed, but those small modular reactors must first be cost-competitive with natural gas to be a viable solution. Currently, they are a long way away, and they may never get there. I hope they do but I am a Techno-Realist.