FUTURE REACTOR: The Advanced Test Reactor at Idaho National
Laboratory, with a maximum capacity of 250 megawatts, would
qualify as a small modular design, although it is primarily used
to test nuclear components for larger reactors. Image: Courtesy
of Idaho National Laboratory Small may be beautiful for the
nuclear power industry So argue a host of would-be builders of
novel nuclear reactors. While the U.S. government has not given
up on investing in large units that boast conventional designs,
the Department of Energy has also announced the availability of
$450 million in funds to support engineering and licensing of
so-called "small modular reactors." "The Obama Administration
and the Energy Department are committed to an all-of-the-above
energy strategy that develops every source of American energy,
including nuclear power," said Secretary of Energy Steven Chu in
a statement announcing the funding, which aims to get such
modular reactors hooked into the grid by 2022. "The Energy
Department and private indu