A U.S. Department of Energy expert says engineering estimates indicate building a first-of-its-kind small modular nuclear reactor would likely cost around $4 billion and take up to five years to build.
Michelle Zietlow Miller, the former director of maintenance at the Quad Cities Power Station, briefed Governor Reynolds’ Nuclear Energy Task Force this (Monday) morning. “So how do we move forward with such high costs, but really good value for the communities, right, once they’re built?” she asked.
Zietlow said federal tax credits can significantly reduce the cost once the plant is operating, but state investment tax credits claimed while the reactor is being built can make such projects possible. “It’s also a leverage point for states to work together, right? So if you want to work with your neighboring states and think about a technology that make sense for you, you can build an order book based on that,” Zietlow Miller said. “I haven’t see states do that, but I’d like to.”
Her presentation indicated it’s likely a developer will line up financing and build one of these small-scale nuclear reactors and a utility will take ownership once the plant is ready to operate. Zeitlow Miller said available data indicates around 1600 full-time employees would be required to operate a small modular nuclear reactor facility.
Only two small modular nuclear reactors are currently operating today. Russia has been operating one since 2020 and China’s went into production in 2023. Small modular nuclear reactors are scheduled to be built in Texas and Wyoming in the next decade, with dozens of other projects around the globe in the planning phase.
