OPINION:
The superpower entrepreneurial spirit embodied by Bill Gates is a welcome addition to the world of nuclear energy (“From Microsoft to micronuclear,” Comment & Analysis, April 6).
The small reactors pursued by TerraPower and the 1,000-megawatt-plus units of today can and should coexist. We really need both. They satisfy two different markets. Small reactors are for users with limited energy needs and no access to an extensive electricity grid. Large reactors are needed to fill the same market as do those of today. Replacing carbon-emitting plants will require more than just large reactors, especially in nations of the developing world, which cannot plug a large power plant into a limited electrical system and do not have the capital even to afford one. As we enter the next nuclear era, it will need to be one of diversity, and once again, one of the world’s leading innovators is helping to show the way.
MOHAMMAD MODARRES
Professor of nuclear engineering
A.J. Clark School of Engineering
University of Maryland
College Park, Md.
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