A U.S. Department of Energy expert says building a first-of-its-kind small modular nuclear reactor would likely cost around four BILLION dollars 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 Monday morning, saying 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 indicates 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 says it’s likely around 16-hundred full-time employees would be required to operate a small modular nuclear reactor facility.
