USEA Virtual Press Briefing Series: The High Excitement and Many Questions about SMRs
Matt Chester of Chester Energy and Policy recently had the pleasure of joining a USEA Virtual Press Briefing as a member of the media asking pointed questions to key leaders in the sector. The full details and video can be found at this USEA.org link, and the relevant information is also copied below.
There are great expectations for small modular reactors.
In nuclear circles, they represent the arrival, at long last, of the nuclear renaissance, the dawn of a new nuclear age.
But an unusual number of questions hang over SMRs:
How will they be brought to market?
Are they really going to be cheaper than traditional light water reactors on a power-per-dollar basis?
Which of all the new entrants will survive in the market?
Will SMRs facilitate large-scale hydrogen production?
Can the NRC handle licensing a variety of design concepts?
How about the utilities? Which ones are going to buy and build?
The SMR briefing held on October 17 featured a diverse panel of gifted and experienced executives who know the technology, the financing, the utility needs and the public acceptance.
Mark Menezes, USEA President and CEO, and former deputy secretary of energy, contributed his expertise as appropriate. Llewellyn King has organized and moderated the briefing.
The USEA, which neither lobbies nor favors one fuel over another, has brought clarity to critical energy issues since 1924.
EXPERTS:
Tom Marcille, VP and Chief Nuclear Officer, Holtec International SMR
James Schaefer, Senior Managing Director, Guggenheim Partners
Chuck Goodnight, Vice President of Sales, NuScale
Mark Gake, Nuclear Technology Portfolio Manager, Black & Veatch
Steve Chengelis, Director of Research and Development Future Nuclear, EPRI
Julie Kozeracki, LPO Senior Advisor, U.S. Department of Energy
REPORTERS:
Jennifer Hiller, The Wall Street Journal
Matt Chester, Energy Central
Ken Silverstein, Forbes
Peter Behr, E&E News