The Nuclear Option
b'Fourteen years after receiving its permit, the nation\\u2019s first new nuclear reactors in decades just fired up in Georgia. Massive, traditional nuclear reactors like this have faced so many cost overruns and construction delays that the investment market for them all but vanished. Despite a handful of recent technical breakthroughs in fusion power, its promise of virtually limitless power remains just a promise. But could a new wave of small, modular fission reactors bring new carbon-free power onto the market faster and cheaper (and safer?) than traditional nuclear plants in time to help the world decarbonize?\\nGuests:\\nMelissa Lott, Senior Research Scholar and the Senior Director of Research at the Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University\\nJacopo Buongiorno, TEPCO Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering, MIT\\xa0\\nAllison MacFarlane, Director of the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia; Former Chair, Nuclear Regulatory Commission\\n\\nFor show notes and related links, visit https://www.climateone.org/audio/nuclear-option\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'