- Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced plans for a nuclear fuel recycling facility in Tooele County, saying it could reuse spent fuel, strengthen U.S. energy independence and create up to 10,000 jobs.
- Utah leaders ceremonially signed HB78, SB135 and SCR1 to expand the state’s nuclear regulatory authority and attract private investment in nuclear recycling.
- State officials say the proposed facility could cover hundreds of acres on SITLA land and would help address nuclear waste by reprocessing spent fuel that still contains most of its original energy potential.
Utah’s Tooele County may soon be home to a nuclear fuel recycling facility, Gov. Spencer Cox announced on Friday afternoon.
The plans came in response to the federal Energy Department’s recent request for states to volunteer as hosts for nuclear lifecycle innovation campuses.
Cox views the DOE-backed request as a way to boost Utah’s position as a leader in nuclear innovation and help the U.S. in its efforts to become more energy independent.
Used nuclear fuel still contains about 95% of its original energy potential, so “with the right technologies, we can actually recycle that fuel and use it again and again to generate more power,” Cox said.
Such a facility could bring 10,000 jobs to Tooele County and surrounding regions. And its geology, arid climate, existing infrastructure and work force “make it one of the most practical locations for this kind of work,” he added.
A host of private companies, from both in-state and out-of-state firms, have already expressed interest in building this type of nuclear facility in Utah.
“Almost daily we’re having people reach out,” Cox told the Deseret News.
Cox ceremoniously signs nuclear-related bills
With state legislators and mayors standing behind him, Gov. Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson ceremoniously signed HB78, SB135 and SCR1.
HB78 established a nuclear energy regulatory office within the state. “We need our state office to be able to regulate these facilities,” in addition to federal regulation, Cox said. “And that’s how we’re going to keep people safe and make sure that these that the environment stays clean.”
SB135 asks the Office of Energy Development’s to promote Utah as a location for nuclear development, work with private companies interested in nuclear fuel recycling and work with federal agencies and local communities to bring a recycling facility to life.
These amendments regarding reprocessing are “so important,” Cox said. “It’s estimated that we have about $3 trillion worth of fuel that has already been used that can be reprocessed. That’s an incredible number. And Utah, if we’re able to get one of these facilities here, will make a huge difference.”
“These amendments allow us the structure within our state to to start building a facility that can reprocess fuels,” he said.
SCR1 declared Utah’s desire to pursue agreement state status with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for additional elements of the nuclear fuel cycle. It acts as a “significant symbol to the country that we’re ready for this and that Utah is going to take the lead,” Cox said.
A reprocessing facility would help the nuclear waste storage issue
Currently, waste from nuclear energy production is stored on-site at commercial nuclear power plants in large steel-and-concrete casks.
However, there is an immense amount of energy potential that still exists in spent nuclear fuel, “and the hope is that we’ll be reprocessing it again,” Cox told the press following his announcement.
Utah has until April 1 to submit its nuclear reprocessing proposal, and state leaders are “getting close,” Cox said. “I just saw an initial draft a couple days ago, so we’re pushing really hard. It was a short time frame to turn around a big proposal like this, but we’re getting closer.”
The state’s Office of Energy Development director, Emy Lesofski, told the press that while there isn’t a final count on how much land the facility would take, it could easily cover hundreds of acres in Tooele County.
“We’re looking specifically at SITLA lands,” Lesofski said. Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) is a state agency that generates revenue for public schools and hospitals.
Her department expects to hear back from the Energy Department with a green light in the next several months.
“I think it’ll be sooner rather than later,” she said. “And there’s a there’s a sense of urgency to get it right and to get moving on it because it is so important from a geopolitical perspective, from a national security perspective, from a country perspective and energy dominance and all and all the things that go with that. And so I think that we expect to hear relatively quickly on it.”
