Last week, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) submitted the first-ever permit application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a small modular nuclear reactor. The TVA’s application comes as a huge milestone in the pathway of small modular reactors (often abbreviated SMRs) from the laboratory to the marketplace, and brings a glimmer of hope to the future of nuclear power in the United States. Let’s review what advantages SMRs have over conventional nuclear reactor designs, and why they have the potential to overcome some of the key barriers limiting new nuclear construction today.
Scientific American 19th May 2016 read more »