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Re:Small nuclear reactors: tiny NuScale reactor gets safety ... by njarboe on Friday September 04, 2020 @06:13PM (#24379421)
The $1/2 billion they had to spend due to paperwork related to certification of the design. From an earlier comment[1] from a different thread about this approval quoting NuScale's press release:

"NuScale spent over $500 million, with the backing of Fluor, and over 2 million labor hours to develop the information needed to prepare its DCA application"

Military reactors don't have to go through this process and those designs (modified to work on land, etc) would.

[1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24346808

Re:Small nuclear reactors: tiny NuScale reactor gets safety ... by shadowprofile77 on Friday September 04, 2020 @06:59PM (#24379750)
In other words, the "impracticality" of compact, safe terrestrial reactor designs is almost entirely created by an immense mountain of bureaucratic hurdle that the military is excepted from? I can see the need for safety and careful documentation of contingencies but the scale of what you describe is simply dismaying.

Thank you for that answer and link. checking further now.

Re:Small nuclear reactors: tiny NuScale reactor gets safety ... by shadowprofile77 on Sunday September 06, 2020 @02:45AM (#24389494)
Also, I can't even begin to imagine how much paperwork would be necessary (in literal visual, procedural terms) for the cost of fulfilling it to reach half a billion fucking dollars and 2 million man hours to fulfill. What would this even contain? Multiple 200+ page technical laboratory test breakdowns for every single nut and bolt and washer in the reactor set-up?