Non-binding deals aim to address spent fuel buildup at reactor sites
The U.S. Energy Department announced the non-binding agreements with Tennessee, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Utah and Idaho. The states would host Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses that would include waste sites as well as uranium enrichment, spent-fuel reprocessing, fuel fabrication, and potentially advanced reactors and data centers, the department said.
If developed, the sites would represent significant progress toward addressing more than 95,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste that has accumulated at nuclear plants and former nuclear sites across the country.
The agreements come after decades of failed efforts to establish a permanent underground storage site. Plans for the Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada were stalled amid staunch opposition from most residents and officials, with spent fuel remaining at reactor sites and former nuclear facilities nationwide, according to the Energy Department.
The states’ Republican governors described the initiative as a chance to help America reclaim its leadership in civilian nuclear energy and to create thousands of jobs through new nuclear projects.