Can small modular reactors clear the cost screen for Greek noninterconnected islands: A benchmark screening assessment against oil based supply with illustrative renewable storage evidence

Greek noninterconnected islands remain economically distinctive because several still depend on autonomous oil based generation while facing pressure to decarbonize through renewables, storage, and interconnections. This article addresses a limited screening question. Do small modular reactors (SMRs) sit above or below the regulator documented cost of continued autonomous island supply, and how should that result be positioned against alternative decarbonization pathways. Using Greek regulatory data, peer reviewed SMR cost anchors, and an eighteen scenario levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) matrix for a 300 MWe proxy unit, the study identifies a central benchmark of 193.57 EUR per MWh and scenario results of 74.7 to 157.9 EUR per MWh. This favorable outcome holds only under the high technical availability assumed as a plant parameter. When Scenario S1 is translated into a more realistic island utilization of 40 to 50 percent, cost rises toward the benchmark, reaching about 187.9 EUR per MWh at 40 percent once the illustrative adders are applied. The discussion adds an illustrative comparison drawn from verified Greek island studies of photovoltaic and storage performance, presented as directional evidence that is not directly commensurate with plant level SMR LCOE. The article does not establish deployment feasibility or superiority over renewable systems with storage. It indicates only that SMRs cannot be excluded on cost screening grounds when the counterfactual is oil based island generation, while the margin narrows sharply under realistic low island utilization.