SMRs: dangerous distraction from climate change mitigation

[Oscar]

Feds’ Small Modular Reactor Action Plan is a dangerous distraction from climate change mitigation

[ https://www.corporateknights.com/channe ... -16092438/ ]

BY RICK CHEESEMAN December 29, 2020
Attractive rhetoric around SMR's does not equate to viability upon close examination

On December 18, the Government of Canada launched its Small Modular Reactor Action Plan, ramping up its support for a new generation of nuclear reactors that will be smaller than the existing fleet, and designed for assembly-line production.

“Canada can be a world leader in this promising, innovative, zero-emissions energy technology, and this is our plan to position ourselves in an emerging global market,” Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan said in a statement.

The governments of New Brunswick, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta, together with the federal government, advocate that small modular reactors (SMRs) are essential if Canada is to achieve a net-zero economy by 2050. According to the feds’ 2018 Call to Action report [ https://smrroadmap.ca/wp-content/upload ... _Web-1.pdf ] on the mini nuclear reactors, “SMRs are a reliable, clean, non-emitting source of energy, with costs that are predictable and competitive with other alternatives.”

The first problem with these claims is that SMRs don’t yet exist and aren’t expected to exist for a decade, making these claims dubious. It’s not the only questionable claim made by proponents.

Are SMRs a clean, zero-emission source of power?

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