> While companies in the US chase smaller footprints, there are a lot of new large reactors going up in China.
And the third-to-last para answers the headline question:
> Larger reactors generally provide more electricity to the grid for a lower price, a key consideration in view of China’s steeply increasing electricity demand. While smaller reactors require less up-front investment than larger ones because of their size, they’ll actually be more expensive per unit of electricity produced.
So it's just another verse in the modern-day song, about how the West mostly talks big and financializes, while China actually builds stuff at scale.
The subtitle is more informative -
> While companies in the US chase smaller footprints, there are a lot of new large reactors going up in China.
And the third-to-last para answers the headline question:
> Larger reactors generally provide more electricity to the grid for a lower price, a key consideration in view of China’s steeply increasing electricity demand. While smaller reactors require less up-front investment than larger ones because of their size, they’ll actually be more expensive per unit of electricity produced.
So it's just another verse in the modern-day song, about how the West mostly talks big and financializes, while China actually builds stuff at scale.