On the sandy shores of Lake Michigan, set against a backdrop of thick forest, a sharp-angled grey concrete building could be the face of an American nuclear renaissance.
The Palisades nuclear plant, about a two-hour drive from Chicago, was decommissioned in 2022, judged to be uneconomical in a world of cheap American gas. But Florida-headquartered company Holtec is reviving it. It will mark not only the first ever restart of a shuttered US nuclear plant, but, if all goes to plan, Palisades will also be the birthplace of a nuclear breakthrough: America’s first commercial “small modular reactors.”
These advanced nuclear reactors, known as SMRs, are like mini nuclear power plants but touted as cheaper, safer, faster to build and easier to finance than their conventional counterparts — and hype around them is rising fast.
Their appeal is clear: the prospect of abundant, clean power that can run 24/7. They’re catnip for tech companies seeking reliable energy sources to slake the incredible thirst of their data centers, expected to increase exponentially as AI grows. Money is pouring in from Big Tech and the Trump administration.
SMRs are in a sweet spot right now, said Michael Craig, an associate professor of energy systems and climate at the University of Michigan. “They’re in this perfect ground where there’s lots of great ideas … and they have a lot of promise and potential,” he told CNN.
The reality, as ever, is likely to be messier and experts are sounding notes of caution. The total cost of SMRs may be lower than conventional plants, but they are still very expensive, meaning the price of electricity they produce will be far higher than wind, solar or gas, experts warn.
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