{"id":153683,"date":"2025-11-20T07:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T13:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=153683"},"modified":"2025-11-19T16:41:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T22:41:23","slug":"why-mississippi-should-bet-on-small-modular-reactors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/why-mississippi-should-bet-on-small-modular-reactors\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Mississippi Should Bet on Small Modular Reactors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mississippi needs power that works when the weather doesn\u2019t and when gas prices spike. We need electricity that is steady, clean, and affordable over the long haul. That\u2019s why we should move toward small modular reactors (SMRs)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SMRs are proven nuclear science packaged in smaller, factory-built units that can be installed at existing power sites. They run 24\/7. They don\u2019t depend on a gas pipeline in a freeze. They produce power without smoke or soot. That\u2019s real reliability, not slogans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cost – <\/strong>The first unit will not be the cheapest kilowatt-hour on your bill. First-of-a-kind projects always cost more. But factories learn, supply chains mature, and the fifth and tenth unit get much cheaper. And one rule should be non-negotiable: large new loads must pay their full cost.<\/strong> Don\u2019t socialize private expansion onto Grandma\u2019s light bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Amazon Web Services (AWS) wants to build billion-dollar data centers here, great\u2014welcome to Mississippi\u2014but AWS should pay the full cost for the lines, substations, and capacity it requires. Use special contracts and demand charges so growth isn\u2019t dumped onto retirees and small businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Safety –<\/strong> People hear \u201cnuclear\u201d and think disaster. The facts tell a different story. U.S. commercial nuclear plants have operated for generations with no radiation deaths<\/strong>. Modern SMR designs are passively safe<\/strong>\u2014if something goes wrong, physics helps shut them down without operators having to save the day. The reactors are smaller, many with components located underground<\/strong>, wrapped in multiple layers of steel and concrete. Fuel is sealed. Emergency systems are redundant. Per unit of electricity, nuclear is among the safest<\/strong> energy sources we have. And unlike gas or coal, nuclear doesn\u2019t dump any pollution into the air our kids breathe. The waste is small in volume, contained, and tracked\u2014handled like the hazardous material it is, not scattered across the sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the state should do now<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Require every utility resource plan\u00a0<\/strong>to include a nuclear build option so SMRs compete head-to-head with gas, solar, and batteries on reliability and winter performance\u2014not just today\u2019s sticker price.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Pick a practical design<\/strong>\u00a0that uses standard low-enriched uranium fuel available now. Avoid exotic fuel bottlenecks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Pre-permit two brownfield sites<\/strong>\u00a0(water, seismic, interconnection studies) so we\u2019re ready when the market is.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Protect ratepayers:<\/strong>\u00a0fixed-price contracts, milestone payments, independent schedule reviews, and special tariffs so big users cover their own costs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Build the workforce pipeline<\/strong>\u00a0through our community colleges with scholarships tied to in-state service.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    This is conservative energy: reliable, clean, and accountable. No mandates. No sermons. Just power that works. Let\u2019s lead with quiet competence\u2014start the site work, choose a sensible design, and build the first unit the right way so the next ones are faster and cheaper. Mississippi can keep the lights on, keep our air clean, and keep our freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Mississippi needs power that works when the weather doesn\u2019t and when gas prices spike. We need electricity that<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124494,"featured_media":153684,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32635],"tags":[32685,5],"class_list":["post-153683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dana-criswell","tag-dana-criswell","tag-mississippi"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Small-Modular-Reactors.jpg?fit=641%2C360&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/124494"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153683"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":153685,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153683\/revisions\/153685"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}