The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) held a workshop on Thursday to assess advanced nuclear technologies, with a focus on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), as part of the state’s energy strategy, though concerns about costs and regulations presented potential roadblocks.

SMRs are advanced nuclear reactors designed to produce smaller amounts of electricity—typically between 10 and 300 megawatts—compared to traditional gigawatt-scale nuclear plants. They are modular, meaning they can be constructed in factories and assembled on-site, offering flexibility in deployment, enhanced safety features, and the ability to adjust output to meet varying energy demands.

Mandated by House Bill 1645, the meeting examined the technical and economic feasibility of nuclear power to meet Florida’s growing electricity demands, while considering cost, regulatory approval, and deployment challenges.

Experts from the nuclear industry, government agencies, and the energy sector discussed the potential of SMRs to provide reliable, carbon-free energy. Dr. Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar, a Professor of Nuclear Engineering at Idaho State University, noted the versatility of SMRs, highlighting their smaller, safer design compared to traditional reactors. She also emphasized that their modular nature allows for deployment in specialized settings, such as military installations or microgrids, offering scalable energy solutions. Dunzik-Gougar also brought attention to the reactors’ “walk-away safety,” which enables them to stabilize without human intervention.

“Advanced nuclear is a little more versatile in size and energy output, from a micro reactor producing just a few megawatts, to a mini reactor generating tens of megawatts, and up to small reactors that are in the hundreds,” she said, adding that “most of these [advanced reactors] have some aspect of walk-away safety—very passively safe, where you need very little action to control a reactor in an accident scenario.”

Despite federal incentives like Investment Tax Credits and Production Tax Credits for advanced nuclear projects, financial and regulatory challenges persist, however. The Department of Energy supports research and development through grants and loan programs, but high capital costs and lengthy construction timelines remain obstacles. Uncertainty around SMRs’ overall cost continues to complicate utility companies’ investment decisions.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is developing a new permitting process, Part 53, to streamline approval for advanced reactors while maintaining safety standards. However, a key issue remains whether security requirements for large reactors can be scaled down for SMRs, presenting another regulatory hurdle. The rulemaking process is expected to conclude in 2025, but questions remain about how long it will take for SMRs to be widely deployed.

The workshop also explored SMRs’ operational flexibility, discussing how unlike traditional reactors that run continuously, SMRs can adjust their output to meet varying energy demands. The level of flexibility is beneficial for Florida’s grid, the experts asserted, where air conditioning loads and fluctuations in solar power create significant variability. Some SMR designs also store energy in molten salt for release during peak demand periods, providing additional grid stability.

“Some of the Gen 4 high-temperature gas reactors, they can maneuver much faster, going up and down, and more equipped to load follow. They stay on and don’t get knocked off the grid,” said said Steve Swilley, Vice President of Nuclear at the Electric Power Research Institute.

Although the focus was on SMRs, participants also noted that gigawatt-scale nuclear plants could still play a role in Florida’s energy future, particularly for large industrial consumers. While SMRs are suited for smaller, distributed energy needs, larger plants may be more cost-effective for meeting massive demand. China’s development of both SMRs and large nuclear reactors was cited as an example of how both technologies can coexist to address energy requirements.

“I think small modular reactors should not be considered as the solution for everything. Look at your application, how much power you need, what temperature you need, and then you backtrack from there. Maybe what you conclude is, we need a gigawatt power plant like the ones we have,” said Swilley

Cost and timeline concerns dominated the discussion, as nuclear projects—including SMRs—face long development periods, which increase costs over time. While existing infrastructure at retired fossil fuel plants may expedite some projects, deployment timelines remain a barrier to widespread adoption.

“The longer it takes, the more expensive it gets because of financing. So, speeding up the timeline is key to bringing down costs,” Swilley said. “It’s not the technology, it’s not even the workforce… it’s really the time. You’re borrowing money to build this project. Every day you’re paying interest on that money. That’s where the cost comes in. So if you can speed up the timeline, then you can lower the cost.”

The workshop concluded with a call for public and stakeholder engagement. The PSC is expected to present its findings and recommendations to the governor and legislature by April 2025.

Florida has been harnessing nuclear energy since the 1970s, with its two major plants, Turkey Point and St. Lucie, supplying approximately 13 percent of the state’s electricity. The Crystal River Nuclear Plant was permanently decommissioned in 2013 due to structural issues and high repair costs.