Tech companies, datacenters, and industrial consumers are pursuing the development of small modular nuclear reactors (SMR), capable of producing stable amounts of carbon-free power at a distributed scale.
Much smaller than a typical commercial or utility-scale nuclear power plant, SMRs are typically envisioned as varying in size from tens of megawatts up to hundreds of megawatts, with potential uses including power generation, process heat, desalination, or other industrial uses.
Utilities, tech companies and some other corporate energy consumers have signed deals or announced plans to pursue SMR development. In 2023, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy announced that it had signed a contract with Ontario Power Generation and others to deploy a BWRX-300 SMR at the Darlington New Nuclear Project site. GE's press release called the Darlington deal "the first commercial contract for a grid-scale SMR in North America."
That same year, materials science manufacturer Dow announced a joint development agreement with X-Energy Reactor Company, LLC "to demonstrate the first grid-scale advanced nuclear reactor for an industrial site in North America." The Dow project involves the installation of an Xe-100 SMR at one of Dow’s U.S. Gulf Coast sites, using funding from sources including the Department of Energy's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program.
Federal support for SMR development is both longstanding and bipartisan. The Department of Energy cites an unbroken heritage of support for SMRs since the late 1990s. Both President Obama and President Trump issued executive orders promoting the design and development of small modular nuclear reactors. Under the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Energy has described advanced SMRs as "a key part of the Department’s goal to develop safe, clean, and affordable nuclear power options." Last month, the Energy Department offered up to $900 million in funding to support the initial domestic deployment of Generation III+ (Gen III+) SMR technologies.
Corporate interest in SMRs has continued, and maybe even grown. In October 2024, Dominion Energy Virginia announced that it had entered into a memorandum of understanding with Amazon "to explore innovative new development structures that would help advance potential Small Modular Reactor (SMR) nuclear development in Virginia." With federal energy regulators recently rejecting a separate plan to co-locate an Amazon data center behind-the-meter at the utility-scale Susquehanna nuclear plant, corporate buyer pressure may soon place an increased emphasis on developing new SMRs at datacenter sites, rather than siting datacenters at existing nuclear plants.
Might small modular reactors come to Maine? Maine's history with nuclear energy involves the now-decommissioned Maine Yankee plant, the continued storage of its spent nuclear fuel and radioactive reactor components, and public perceptions of nuclear power. As a result of this history, any Maine SMR project faces challenges including a law which requires approval by the state's voters through a statewide referendum before any nuclear reactor may be constructed.
A law enacted in 1987 provides for "citizen participation in any decision to construct a nuclear power plant within the State." Now codified as Chapter 43 of Title 35-A of the Maine Revised Statutes, this law requires a statewide referendum asking voters to accept or reject construction of any proposed plant, through balloting on the following question: "Do you approve construction of the nuclear power plant proposed for (insert locations)?"
As interest in SMRs continues to grow, expect Maine to consider its 1987 nuclear referendum law, and whether change is appropriate to enable small modular nuclear reactor development in Maine.
