Smaller reactors could make this idea a reality:
As coal plants close, they leave behind empty building shells and scores of lost jobs. Some analysts have proposed a solution that, on the surface, seems almost too elegant: turning old coal plants into nuclear power plants.
On 13 September, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released a report suggesting that, in theory, over 300 former and present coal power plants could be converted to nuclear. Such a conversion has never been done, but the report is another sign that the idea is gaining momentum—if with the slow steps of a baby needing decades to learn to walk.
Seems like a good way to get rid of dirty coal plants and replace them with reliable base load generation.