Hollis State Rep. Candidate Offers Another View: Small Nuclear Power and New Hampshire’s Energy Future

By Dr. Jim Kelly, Candidate State Representative

I read with interest Representative Kat McGhee’s recent report that appeared on the Hollis Brookline News website, Legislative Update For July 2026. I would like to provide a differing viewpoint. 

The bill which Rep. McGhee introduced, supported, and is referencing is fighting an outdated war. According to the legislative analysis: 

HB1722: This bill creates a regulatory framework for large-energy-use retail electricity facilities, directs the public utilities commission to develop a separate classification for such customers, set cost-based tariffs, and regulate long-term contracts to prevent adverse cost impacts on other ratepayers.

Rep. McGhee states, “I introduced HB1722 to protect ratepayers from higher electric bills.” The sponsor would like you to believe that it protects consumers with more regulation. However, it is not financially viable for large commercial users of electricity (data centers) to even be connected to the grid. It is a solution without a problem.

HB 672 (2025): Signed into law in August 2025. While not exclusively nuclear, it carved out a new legal class for "off-grid electricity providers," freeing prospective micro-nuclear and SMR [Small Modular Reactors] developers from strict state public utility regulations. This law aimed to clear administrative gridlock for data centers looking to build private SMR setups. 

Rep. McGhee continues that “much of the new power waiting to come onto the grid is renewable generation paired with batteries, including the projects at retiring coal plants Schiller Station in Portsmouth and Merrimack Station in Bow. Nuclear power can produce low-cost electricity after enormous upfront costs, but small modular reactors remain expensive for the power they provide.”

Anyone who has lived in New England for a year knows that the weather is not reliable. The Band-Aid for wind and solar cell unreliability is now a battery farm. Yet the carbon footprint, water depletion, and open-pit mining are environmental disasters when mining lithium and other components of batteries. They are never figured into the equation. And let’s not forget the safety requirements (spontaneous combustion), rules and regulations, siting difficulties (do you want a battery farm next door?) and operational maintenance costs. 

Small nuclear reactors such as the one currently being field tested by Deep Fission, (deepfission.com) are safe, cheap, compact, and deployable in a short amount of time. A single Deep Fission reactor would cost about $30MM. It would produce about 12-15 MWe annually. It has a 30” (yes, 30 inches) footprint and is scalable. And it is designed for places with a granite geologic base! Ten such units have a footprint of 0.25 acre. A single reactor would be sufficient for Hollis. Construction is estimated to take 9-18 months. Deep Fission is expected to go commercial in two years. Imagine Hollis being off the grid, each ratepayer a shareholder of “Hollis Community Energy.”  $30MM spread among 5000 households in Hollis would result in a $6000 investment for each. There would still be minimal transmission costs as upkeep of the local transmission lines would be necessary. No stranded costs. $6K for 10-20 years of power (or $16.65 per month) vs. what you are paying now. And this is just one company. Decentralized power generation comes with the added benefit of protection against widespread interruption, either manmade or natural. 

In her legislative report, Rep. McGhee asked for new ideas, and competent government. Our Republican-led legislators have already set the foundation  for SMR. They have had the insight to legislate for the future, not attempt to legislate the past. Integrated with current renewables (we do not have to make an either/or choice), efficient fossil fuels (LNG), and SMR combine to form a logical and insightful future for New Hampshire’s energy needs.  

I intend to be an advocate for these safe, small, low-impact, cost-effective and reliable sources for power in New Hampshire. 

Dr. Jim Kelly

Candidate for State Representative District 35

Email: kelly4hollis@gmail.com

Website: CommonsenseforNH.com