Everything is interconnected. If you want to electrify you will need a lot of juice, especially to deploy the exotic, like maglev. Similarly if you experience a huge air pollution problem you will want to replace or convert your coal burning power generating stations. Really big nuclear can provide you with the margin, the leeway to achieve those goals without brownouts.

Efficient large power plants are more effective than dumping generation onto the little people, like solar panels which will deteriorate and increase the cost of re-roofing for low income homeowners already struggling with maintenance costs of low tech like painting the house.

Time to prioritize big scientific research - for instance exploring the feasibility of the space elevator is a lot more important than the very perilous human exploration of Mars, better done by our robotic friends. If the space elevator works then you can dispose of nuclear waste by sending it off into the sun. We are still waiting for fusion to generate a watt whilst fission does function and can produce the vast quantity of electricity you will require to dump fossil on a large scale and still maintain modern conveniences.