Hadnt heard of realistic plans to build modular reactors, just chances in the future.

U of IL is going to build a research one.  I think they are all permitted and such.

Don’t know about the actual approvals, colleague of mine said one proposed plan for security was to bury them 50’ deep.  I think they are still in the research pre-commercial stage.  I haven’t read about the thorium designs for a while but I thought they couldn’t melt down or run away or whatever.

Large utility scale nuke plants have been uneconomical to build and plan new for some time, there are permitted reactor sites or expansions of existing sites in USA that were never built due to economics.  Fracking and cheap natural gas changed the economics more.  Cheap non-subsidized solar and wind wind energy changing economics more.  Battery tech getting better, seems more gains are likely.  Solar and wind are location specific and dont work everywhere, there are better and worse locations.