AP reported July 19: “A Utah energy cooperative said it will reduce the number of small modular nuclear reactors (SMR) it will build in Idaho from 12 to 6 for a first-of-a-kind project that is part of a federal effort to reduce greenhouse gases that cause climate change. But Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems said the reactors will be more efficient than previously planned so the amount of power produced will only drop from 600 to 462 megawatts. Cooperative spokesman LaVarr Webb told the [Idaho Falls] Post Register in a story Friday [July 16] that a plant with six reactors would be the right size for its members and outside utilities that want to join.”
Aside from the sheep-like AP claim that the Department of Energy supported SMR development in order to reduce greenhouse gases, the truth here is that the development of this first commercial SMR nuclear power plant is being sabotaged by Utah electric cooperatives which are, sheep-like, buying into solar power provided by Facebook instead. The big orders for solar farms are coming from Facebook, which has bought contracts for more than 800 MW of solar electric power for its data centers in that state. Rocky Mountain Power is building the solar farms; Facebook will “own” 10% of Utah’s power capacity, and solar will have gone from 5% to Utah’s rated power capacity in 2019 to 20% by end-2023.
