New nuclear reactors, typically called small modular reactors (SMRs), are related to traditional plants like those at Davis-Besse and Perry, but are factory-made, flexible and capable of directly replacing fossil-fuel power plants — bringing new high-wage jobs to coal towns and serving as economic wellsprings for a century or more. Thankfully, Ohio already has an edge in this developing market. Ohio manufactures SMRs for the United States Navy.
The U.S. Navy operates dozens of flexible SMRs — turning teenage recruits into operators in little more than a year’s time—and has been since the 1950s. That we trust our sons and daughters to depend on and live alongside these systems should be all the information any American needs to support their use. Ohio’s long history of manufacturing reactors that power our ships makes it a de facto contender to manufacture the reactors that will plug directly in to closing fossil-fuel plants.
Momentum is already rolling for new nuclear. Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia recently adopted laws making them available for new nuclear power. The coal town Kemmerer, Wyoming, will soon be home to a new reactor designed to store energy while burning nuclear waste. Alaska and Tennessee are siting new builds. Rolls Royce, the naval reactor manufacturer in the U.K., is currently on the hunt for a manufacturing site for that country’s SMRs. Russia and China, arguably fifteen years ahead in their nuclear technologies, are rapidly deploying new nuclear plants and are inking economic agreements with countries across the globe who want nuclear power. Of the more than 50 reactors being built worldwide, only one is a U.S. design.
Ending climate change in a way that won’t completely upend the global economy will require a lot of nuclear power and, as always, investments in innovative commercial technologies will have military significance. Countries leading in this effort have the upper-hand in ensuring national security prerogatives, deciding safety standards and claiming a piece of the economic pie as fossil-fuel capital migrates to clean tech.
Early engagement by organizations like the Ohio Manufacturers Association and the Ohio Department of Development with reactor vendors like General Electric, X-Energy, BWXT and NuScale Power will ensure Ohio leads as a powerhouse in manufacturing and clean-energy deployment. Ohio universities, community colleges and trade schools will play a pivotal role in this effort.
When Ohio residents think about nuclear energy, supporting legislation like the Fission for the Future Act of 2021 (US-S.3428) should come to mind first. Our manufacturers, energy workers and educators are about to completely rebuild the middle class and literally save the world in the process.
Randall Reames, a Dayton native, is a nuclear engineer working in the global supply chain industry and is a former quality engineer for the U.S. Naval reactor program in Barberton, Ohio.
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