First U.S. Commercial Small Nuclear Reactor Axed

Advanced nuclear developer NuScale and a Utah state government agency have terminated what would have been the first small modular reactor to enter commercial service in the United States.

The Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) was scheduled to begin generating electricity in 2029. NuScale had begun preparing the site and crafting the reactors. But its developers have now pulled the plug, claiming that the number of paying subscribers was too low to economically justify the project.

The cancellation pushes small modular reactors’ U.S. debut even further into a murky future.

It is a setback…