Clean Energy: Two New 'Microreactor' Designs Could Be Game

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We solve today’s problems with tomorrow’s technology.

One of today’s problems is energy production. Our electrical grid is aging, and our generation capacity is inadequate in many areas, as witnessed by the rolling blackouts in places like California. The reply from the left to this is to call for inefficient, low-energy-density solutions like wind and solar power. But the best answer, an energy source that is clean, efficient, reliable, and high-energy-density, is nuclear power.

Advances in nuclear technology in recent years have been remarkable. We have seen the rise of molten-salt reactors, small modular reactors (SMR), and even the possible advent — finally, maybe — of fusion power.

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Now, there’s another innovation. Two companies are working with microreactors.

Funding for two new microreactors could bring reliable nuclear power to remote locations. Westinghouse secured US $3 million for its eVinci microreactor, and Radiant Industries received $2 million for its Kaleidos microreactor, both in November from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

As an honest minarchist, I’d rather not see any government thumbs on the scales, but at least the development itself is in the hands of private companies, one of whom, Westinghouse, has a long history in power generation. Testing, however, still requires the involvement of the DOE.

The funding will help the companies ready the technology for testing at the DOE’s Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments (DOME)—the first microreactor testbed in the United States. DOME is currently under construction at Idaho National Laboratory’s Materials and Fuels Complex in Blackfoot, Idaho, and is expected to be completed in 2026. The companies must conduct an analysis, called detailed engineering and experiment planning (DEEP), before running fueled experiments at the testbed.

These microreactors have a lot of promise. Case in point: In 2012, right here in the Great Land, a severe winter storm locked the coastal town of Nome up behind oceanic ice. Nome’s energy comes from a diesel-powered generator plant, but the town was in danger of running out of fuel. This would have been disastrous. An SMR or a microreactor would have eliminated this risk. Indeed, this tech is perfect for communities like Nome — or like our own little Susitna Valley community, for that matter.

As the name suggests, microreactors produce less power than conventional nuclear reactors do, generating 50 megawatts or less, compared with 1 gigawatt from full-size plants. A modular layout, reliable power supply, and simple installation make microreactors a potentially attractive source of energy for remote locations that lack traditional infrastructure.

These microreactor designs are perfect for outlying communities, like Nome, Kotzebue, or any number of small towns off the beaten path; communities like this are found all across the fruited plain. These new reactors are safe and reliable. They use fuel pellets designed to be safe to handle, and the reactors themselves are nearly meltdown-proof.

There is also the matter of decentralizing our grid. Decentralization makes the electrical grid a less desirable target for hostile action; it makes our grid more secure, and yes, even more efficient.

Nuclear power has to be part of our energy future. It’s one of the ways we will solve today’s energy problems. The development of these microreactors, indeed all aspects of the explosion of new technology in nuclear power generation, makes one optimistic that our energy future may be bright — if we make nuclear power a key part of it.