Interesting, but long, article. I've been asking myself this same questions for years. The scale isn't there. The proper momentum isn't there.
Yes, it was a bit tedious and seemed contradictory at times.
Much of the cost of a commercial reactor is the upfront cost and interest on that part of the overall life cycle cost (Vogtle). Building a number of SMRs on one site allows the first to go online while construction continues on the rest mitigating some of that cost. Being smaller allows the plant to substantially be built in a facility and shipped to the site. SMRs have an edge on safety and simplicity of operation limiting that as one of the NIMBYs oppositions along with waste. Some of the SMRs have a bigger burn rate and can even burn spent fuel (metal/salt). A multiple site of 10 SMRs would save on operating and maintenance staff. It's hard to argue SMRs in general because of the many designs. Further there is movement to use SMRs in industrial applications such as steel, hydrogen production, data mining, and processing facilities that are energy intensive that do not need Gigawatt power sources. Then there are the mini and micro reactors that could show up alongside the road to charge EVs or power mines in northern Canada or Alaska.
