{"id":417236,"date":"2025-12-13T14:33:33","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T13:33:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=417236"},"modified":"2025-12-13T14:33:36","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T13:33:36","slug":"why-are-developing-economies-pursuing-small-modular-reactors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=417236","title":{"rendered":"Why are developing economies pursuing small modular reactors?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From America Out Loud News<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Ronald Stein P.E.<\/a>, Dr. Robert Jeffrey<\/a>, Olivia Vaughan<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The global electricity debate has reached a critical impasse. While developed nations debate the finer points of renewable electricity portfolios, like how much profit is being made, billions of people in the world remain trapped in electricity poverty.\u00a0For half of the world\u2019s people living on less than $10 per day<\/a>\u2014and particularly the\u00a0565 million Sub-Saharan Africans without electricity<\/a>\u2014the conversation about electricity must be grounded in pragmatism, not ideology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US has recently signed<\/a> an economic and Defense Partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that includes civilian nuclear energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa expects to lift the care and maintenance status of its\u00a0Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR)<\/a>\u00a0by the first quarter of next year or even earlier.\u00a0Alternative sources of stable, continuous electricity, in this instance provided by SMR units, will benefit as environmental trends increasingly move towards green technologies.\u00a0\u00a0These technologies, because of cost and price trends, will become\u00a0increasingly economic and cost-effective in the future<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A comprehensive economic impact study of South Africa\u2019s small modular reactor (SMR) deployment strategy, undertaken by one of the authors of this report, reveals what is at stake when developing nations pursue practical electricity solutions that can generate continuous, uninterrupted, and emission-free electricity. The findings offer a compelling blueprint for how SMR technology could transform not just electricity access, but entire economies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nations need dispatchable electricity. What is often forgotten is that all developed and developing nations require dispatchable electricity<\/a> to maximise economic growth and efficiency. The purpose is to maximise benefits for their citizens by raising their standard of living, reducing unemployment, and poverty. Dispatchable electricity means that sufficient electricity is available immediately on demand by businesses and the public, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Energy sources must first be examined on their ability to meet this criterion. Using South Africa as the example, the primary alternative electricity sources that need to be examined are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n