Recently I’ve heard people say the U.S. should build small nuclear reactors, because “that’s what France did.” This comes from President Trump’s appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast. But it’s wrong. France had one of the most iconic builds of nuclear electricity ever, but they were not small reactors.

In 1973 the world experienced the first oil shock. Basically a bunch of countries that were blessed with oil slapped an embargo on oil exports to the U.S. and other allies. Prices skyrocketed and people started panicking as they lined up around gas stations, trying to get their fix.

Countries realized it probably wasn’t a great idea to base their entire industrial system on cheap oil from sometimes adversarial nations. At the time, France was practically drowning in imported oil – about 75% of its entire energy use came from it, and nearly all of that was from abroad.

That’s when French Prime Minister Pierre Mesmer stepped up and had a brilliant idea. He said: “F*** that sh**, we need to become energy independent.” Ok, no, he didn’t say that. But he did say: “In France we do not have oil, but we have ideas.”

And just like that, France launched the super aggressive Messmer Plan. This plan wasn’t just big – it was ambitious on a whole other level. It called for building 13 new nuclear reactors within just a few years, and that was only the beginning.

They didn’t just want a few plants; they wanted a whole fleet. By the time the dust settled, 15 years later, France had become one of the world’s nuclear powerhouses, with over 50 reactors powering the nation.

These weren’t small reactors, they ranged from 900 MWe to 1500 MWe. The lines are bit fuzzy, but generally to be considered small, a reactor needs to be 300 MWe or less.

What was the result of the Messmer Plan? France became way less dependent on oil and shifted to one of the cleanest, most reliable energy mixes out there. Today, about 70% of France’s electricity comes from nuclear. It was a bold and controversial move, but it made France one of the most energy-secure and low-carbon countries in the world.

@joerogan We should build small reactors because we have more than 7 decades of experience building them for US Navy submarines, they can be standardized & certified as a class instead of per installation and because they are safe, more efficient & more reliable than "green" energy.

@joerogan The experts will correct him. And he'll listen. His point is that the current model sucks.

@joerogan i’m trying to provide information.