Small Modular Reactors are said to be the future of nuclear power. So far just one, NuScale, has had design approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. GE Hitachi has signed a contract to build in Canada. The Department of Energy has provided seed funding for a variety of designs and technologies.

When will SMRs be deployed in the United States? How much dispatchable power will they add to the grid by 2035 and 2050. How often will they be refueled — every 20 years, every 60?

Of the various designs, will one triumph or will one triumph, or will we see a variety of reactors all using different technologies?

Will the variety of reactors speed the development of a new nuclear base, or will it hamper it?

Can new technologies pass muster with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission? Is the NRC prepared to license new nuclear technologies? Will we see the new reactors, developed in America but deployed in Europe and Canada in order to avoid NRC licensing?

Will the SMRs make a real difference, or will they be a small, supplemental source of carbon-free energy for a long time? 

What can the government do that it isn’t doing now to speed the development of SMRs?

These critical questions and more will be addressed in this briefing, which will consist of a panel of experts taking questions from knowledgeable journalists. USEA Acting Executive Director Sheila Hollis will give opening remarks. Llewellyn King, nationally syndicated newspaper columnist and broadcaster, organized this briefing and will moderate.

Experts:
Donald M. Wolf, Chairman and CEO, Advanced ARC
Don Moul, COO, Tennessee Valley Authority
Jeffrey Merrifield, Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP; former NRC Commissioner
Richard Mroz, Founder and Managing Director, Resolute Strategies; former President, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities
Rick Springman, Senior VP, Holtec International 

Reporters:
Ken Silverstein, Forbes
Jennifer Hiller, The Wall Street Journal 
Rod Kuckro, Freelance
Stephen Singer, Utility Dive