Please note that SMR technology has advanced beyond the academic stage. After years of review, NuScale's design has been approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Unconstructed plans are the very definition of academic.
NRC approval doesn't say anything about constructability or economics. It doesn't even say much about the operating characteristics, except that the NRC is pretty sure it meets the safety guidelines.
This is why there are these characteristics that Rickover lists, which NuScale will encounter when they finally build, but are not revealed by any planning they have done up until now:
> (1) It is being built now. (2) It is behind schedule. (3) It requires an immense amount of development on apparently trivial items. (4) It is very expensive. (5) It takes a long time to build because of its engineering development problems.
NRC approval doesn't say anything about constructability or economics. It doesn't even say much about the operating characteristics, except that the NRC is pretty sure it meets the safety guidelines.
This is why there are these characteristics that Rickover lists, which NuScale will encounter when they finally build, but are not revealed by any planning they have done up until now:
> (1) It is being built now. (2) It is behind schedule. (3) It requires an immense amount of development on apparently trivial items. (4) It is very expensive. (5) It takes a long time to build because of its engineering development problems.