The rhetoric from small modular reactor (SMR) advocates is loud and persistent - this time will be different because the cost overruns and schedule delays that have plagued large reactor construction projects will not be repeated with the new designs. But the few SMRs that have been built (or have been started) paint a different picture - one that looks startingly similar to the past. Significant construction delays are still the norm and costs have continued to climb.

The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) has taken a close look at the data available from the four SMRs currently in operation or under construction, as well as new information about projected costs from some of the leading SMR developers in the United States. The results of the analysis show little has changed from their previous work. SMRs still are too expensive, too slow to build, and too risky to play a significant role in transitioning from fossil fuels in the coming 10 to 15 years.

The authors of this report assert that regulators, utilities, investors and government officials should embrace the reality that renewables, not SMRs, are the near-term solution to the energy transition for Australia.