Utah counties submitting sites for nuclear reactors

Utah Sen. John Curtis said on Friday he is doing everything he can to realize the Trump administration’s nuclear vision even as he remains cautious about its approach to green energy subsidies.

Curtis conducted an interview with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright focusing on nuclear power as part of the senator’s 4th annual Conservative Climate Summit at the University of Utah.

The administration is working to get at least 10 nuclear reactor labs running in the next 24 months, Wright said, including Utah’s Valar Atomics reactor, which broke ground at the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab last month.

Wright’s Department of Energy will provide low-interest loans to help these expensive projects become a reality, he said, in an effort to increase the country’s power production by 100 gigawatts over the next five years.

“To build energy, you have to build big things,” Wright said. “‘Green’ is to build these energy intensive and large physical materials in our own states, with great regulations and great innovation in a clean fashion.”

Next steps for Utah nuclear

At the urging of Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Utah has done more than any other state to create a welcoming policy environment for nuclear energy, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute.

Earlier this year, the state Legislature approved memorandums of understanding with neighboring states to pursue a nuclear reactor, $8 million for site selection and a new committee to prepare the way for projects.

The Utah Nuclear Consortium — composed of eight lawmakers, regulators, business leaders and Laura Nelson of the Idaho National Laboratory — held its first meeting on Tuesday.

According to Rep. Colin Jack, R-St. George, the group reviewed geographic factors that might influence where to build a nuclear reactor. However, they are counting on local governments to propose sites, Jack said.

“We’re going to encourage counties and municipalities to self-select where they want to do maybe some nuclear development zones, and we’ll then evaluate that for them,” Jack told the Deseret News.

Using the money lawmakers appropriated for Operation Gigawatt, the consortium will hire “nuclear staff” at the Department of Environmental Quality to create a Utah nuclear regulatory commission, Jack said.

Over the next year or two, as the administration accelerates the construction of nuclear labs around the country, Utah will be able to identify the best designs to bring to the state, Jack said.

Counties have already begun reaching out to the consortium with possible locations to host a reactor, so it “looks promising” that the consortium will soon have a list of candidates to evaluate, Jack said.

The ball has already started rolling. In August, the Utah Office of Energy Development announced an agreement with two firms to begin searching for a possible site of a Natrium nuclear reactor and energy storage.

What about wind, solar?

But reaching the administration’s energy goals likely won’t be accomplished by innovation alone.

When President Donald Trump was sworn in, about 100 gigawatts of coal and natural gas plants were slated to close. The administration is also working to stop these closures, according to Wright.

America needs to pursue “energy addition, not energy subtraction,” Wright said, to keep up with energy demand, which is expected to increase by over 50% by 2035 because of artificial intelligence.

Curtis has at times pushed back against the administration for potentially missing “energy addition” opportunities by slashing Biden-era subsidies and tax credits for green energy projects.

In August, Curtis placed holds on three of Trump’s nominees until he could receive guarantees that the administration would honor the slower timeline for phasing out wind and solar tax credits that Curtis had helped to secure as part of the “big, beautiful bill.”

On Friday, Curtis told the Deseret News that he and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, had ended their opposition to Trump’s nominees after Trump issued an executive order “that we felt like was good enough.”

“Me and the same group are watching very carefully because that is one of the tools that we have,” Curtis said. “Just to make sure that the administration is in line with congressional intent that was in the Big, Beautiful Bill.”

Since entering the Senate in January, Curtis has stuck his neck out to defend wind and solar tax credits that he thinks should be part of an “affordable, reliable, clean” energy economy.

While some have criticized the senator for seeking to preserve government subsidies for industry allies, Curtis said he is trying to get both Republicans and Democrats to actually support an “all of the above” approach.

“We need every electron we can get,” Curtis said.