Think Small: Why America Should Bet on Small Modular Reactors
Small modular reactors (SMRs) could give the United States a scalable, lower-cost, and exportable source of clean energy, but only if policymakers pursue a coordinated, bipartisan strategy that supports every stage from research to scale-up. SMRs’ modular design allows factory production and incremental deployment, potentially cutting costs with each expansion and fostering domestic supply chains. Yet they face steep technological, market, supply, regulatory, and political risks—any of which could stall progress.
To succeed, the federal government must unify leadership across agencies, reform NRC and FERC processes, bridge funding gaps in early development, and sustain long-term commitment. With rising demand for clean, reliable power, particularly from energy-intensive sectors like data centers, now is the moment to invest in SMRs as a strategic U.S. industry.
