- The U.S. Department of War airlifted a five-megawatt miniature nuclear reactor built by Valar Atomics to Hill Air Force Base in Utah, on Sunday, with plans for it to begin generating power in Emery County by July 4, 2026.
- Federal and state leaders, including Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, credited deregulation under Donald Trump for accelerating private-sector nuclear innovation and licensing.
- Officials in Carbon and Emery counties say small modular reactors could revive coal-hit local economies and bring long-term jobs and infrastructure investment to rural Utah.
The U.S. Department of War airlifted a miniature nuclear reactor across the American West on Sunday, marking a historic shift in what is possible in the world of energy production.
Components of the five-megawatt advanced nuclear reactor, manufactured by Valar Atomics in Southern California, were transported to Hill Air Force Base in Utah, aboard three U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft.
The flight marked the first time ever a nuclear reactor was transported by C-17, and showed the possibilities for future deployment of nuclear energy infrastructure.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and other leaders accompanied the reactor on the flight, then spoke at a press conference following the landing. Echoing earlier declarations, Cox said he plans for Utah to lead the country in nuclear energy production.
“Ladies and gentlemen, there are moments in history when technologies redefine what is possible in a nation. Advanced nuclear for national security belongs in that lineage,” he said.
Cox referenced the state’s initiative to expand its energy abundance through nuclear and geothermal energy sources. “Operation gigawatt is not a slogan,“ he said. ”It is a commitment to build energy capacity that powers economic growth, military readiness and national strength.”
From the stand, Curtis also praised his state for its push to become energy independent following the 1970s energy crisis.
“We decided at that time, in a non-partisan way, that we would never be dependent on a foreign power for energy again,” he said. “And just a few years ago, when we reached that spot where we knew we could be energy independent, the whole energy world changed.”
The nuclear reactor will be transported from Hill Air Force Base to Orangeville, Utah, in Emery County, and is expected to begin generating power before July 4, 2026.
Federal leaders praise the nuclear industry and deregulation
Along with Cox, Wright, and the nuclear reactor, most of Valar Atomics’ employees flew aboard the C-17s, joined by Under Secretary of War Michael Duffey, Utah Sen. John Curtis and Valar Atomics founder Isaiah Taylor.
Taylor, now 26 years old, founded Valar Atomics in 2023. The company focuses on designing advanced nuclear reactors that use TRISO fuel and helium as a coolant, instead of water.
Last July, Taylor told the American Conservative he was grateful to be working with the Trump administration, since they are focused on deregulation.
“There needs to be a complete overhaul of the regulatory environment in the United States in order for nuclear to work,” he said. “That was just not something that the prior administration had the stomach for. So we’re really grateful to be working with the Trump administration.”
In Duffey and Wright’s remarks following their arrival in Utah, they both said the country’s rapid nuclear innovations were due to federal deregulation and largely led by private companies like Valar.
Duffey said the Trump administration is “tearing down the walls that have until now kept innovative companies away.”
“We want and need the best ideas, the best people and the fastest work,” he said. The Department of War and the Department of Energy are working with “startups and corporations to solve our hardest problems.”
Wright added, “We went 40 or 50 years without building much in the nuclear space.” But things changed when “President Trump signed multiple executive orders that have unleashed tremendous reform.”
Ten reactors have been or will be licensed by the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by July 4, 2026, Wright said.
Small town Utahns say they need the nuclear industry
Small towns across Carbon and Emery county suffered job losses after the U.S. began shifting away from coal power. Several county officials came to Hill Air Force Base on Sunday in hopes that new nuclear industry would come to them.
Emery County Commission chairman Keven Jensen told the Deseret News that after President Donald Trump signed a pro-nuclear power executive order last May, “We were pretty excited, and we jumped right into a public hearing for nuclear industries.”
“These little micro units are a perfect fit for Emery County, so there’s a lot of support for it,” he said.
Green River’s city manager Edward Castro Bennett also came up for the reactor’s landing, in hopes of bringing the industry back to his town, just west of Moab.
“If we can land Valar in one of these phases in this capacity, it would be a generational game changer. Our economic depression would go away,” he said. “We’ve got a municipal airport, we’ve got one of four Amtrak stations in the entire state, plenty of water, plenty of space and plenty of people that want to work.”