Nuclear power plants are typically hulking structures made using billions of dollars of concrete and steel. But one company thinks that by going smaller, they could actually make nuclear power more affordable. NuScale Power based in Portland, Ore., has submitted a design for what it describes as a "modular" nuclear power plant. Each module is a self-contained 50-megawatt nuclear reactor loaded with standard uranium reactor fuel. Modules would be assembled at a factory-like facility and then delivered to power utilities and other clients. "Miniature" in nuclear terms is still pretty big. The modules are small enough to fit on flat-bed trucks, but they would stand nearly nine stories tall. Moreover, a power plant would probably require several modules hooked together like giant batteries. Of course, they'd need to be operated by professional nuclear engineers. But the design — a radical departure from other nuclear plants — would also have advantages. Each module uses less uranium fuel,
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