New Nuclear Design Will Aid Electric Reliability
Published
on Thursday, May 8, 2025
in
Electric
Last year, our power supplier, Wolverine Power Cooperative, entered into a historic agreement with Holtec International to restart the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in southwest Michigan. The restart is currently set for October of this year. Once the reactor is back online, it will be the first nuclear power plant in the United States to restart after being closed.
In February, Holtec made another announcement: It has partnered with Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Mitsubishi Electric to build a fleet of small modular reactors (SMR) by 2030. The SMRs are designed to generate 10 gigawatts in total. The first two units will be built at Palisades.
What’s An SMR?
Small modular reactors are a new technology in nuclear energy. In contrast with standard reactors, SMRs are about a third of the size and simpler to build but can provide a big boost to energy generation.
There are currently no operational SMRs in the United States, making Holtec a pioneer in the field of nuclear energy yet again.
How SMRs Aid Reliability
The two SMRs to be built at Palisades are expected to nearly double the amount of electricity the plant can generate. This is not only a great thing for Michigan’s generation capacity, but for the rest of the United States as well, as similar SMRs could potentially be built elsewhere.
Previously, nuclear projects in the U.S. have run into roadblocks involving construction costs and timelines. Holtec hopes their SMRs will break through these barriers in a few key ways:
- Lower construction costs. SMR components can be manufactured ahead of time, reducing the up-front cost of building a new reactor.
- Shorter construction times. The premade SMR components can be assembled onsite so that they take less time to build than standard reactors.
- Greater location flexibility. Being smaller than standard reactors, SMRs are an opportunity for nuclear plants to be built in areas that might not be able to accommodate larger reactors.
All these benefits could add up to a lot of extra energy being generated in the United States, which is becoming more and more important as we increase our reliance on electricity. Holtec isn’t the only company looking into SMRs. Others, like Amazon and Alphabet (operators of Google), are also investing in the technology.
Nuclear is the Greenest Energy
Nuclear energy is completely carbon-free and is even more reliable than traditional power plants like coal, able to run more than 90% of the time.
It’s also highly efficient—the Department of Energy says one uranium pellet about one inch tall can produce the same amount of energy as 120 gallons of oil, 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas, or one metric ton of coal.
As we continue to rely on greater amounts of electricity due to things like AI and cryptocurrency, innovations like Holtec’s SMRs will help generation keep up with demand for years to come.