Utah readies itself to expand nuclear energy generation

Yahoo

07-02-2025

The Utah House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill that sets up the Utah Energy Council, establishes energy development zones and creates a nuclear energy consortium as the state eyes a more secure, carbon free future.
HB249 by Rep. Carl Albrecht, R-Richfield, has a lot of moving parts and he conceded it will be tweaked in the coming years, long after he is gone.
He told his House colleagues he is fine with that.
'Politicians are like dirty diapers, every once in awhile they need to be changed.'
The state Legislature is flush with energy bills, with leadership identifying energy as a top priority and one of the most pressing issues in Utah.
The bill does not mean advanced nuclear technology will pop up immediately in the state, but the consortium is tasked with making decisions based on science and what is most appropriate in the state.
Albrecht said the bill grew out of tours taken by an energy working group made up of both state senators and representatives. They visited the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls and toured the White Mesa Mill in Blanding.
'This started out as a bill structured for the future of nuclear energy in the state, and ended up as a bill to set up a structure for all energy in the future of the state: gas plants, geothermal, battery storage, wind, solar transmission projects, and as you well know, energy production and reliability is a statewide issue.'
Albrecht explained other aspects of the bill.
'This bill creates zones, energy development zones, establishing a process for counties and municipalities to apply for an electric development zone designation. These zones are identified for their suitability in hosting future energy infrastructure and their proximity to transmission lines. The zones could come to the council from counties and municipalities,' he said. 'To keep the energy projects from pitting one county against the other, as we've seen with some retail incentives, public incentives are not allowed unless the project is inside of a zone.'
House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, spoke favorably about the bill on Thursday during media availability.
'Nuclear is so much safer now. We are running into energy crisis in our nation. It's seen as most efficient and clean for our future,' he said. 'If we're not going to go to nuclear, what are we going to go to?'
He added: 'We have more requests for data centers in Utah than energy we use as a state. Whoever controls AI controls the world. We need more energy. We have an energy shortage. I'm glad the rest of the nation has come on board where Utah has been.'
Utah has been identified as a 'first mover' state — only one of a handful — by the Idaho National Laboratory's Frontier Project. That designation means Utah is positioned well to embrace nuclear, not only from a carbon free standpoint but as a way to stimulate economic development.
Utah is not alone in its quest to plug nuclear energy into the grid.
This week, the Texas A&M University System announced it had offered land near the campus to four nuclear companies for the development of small modular reactors.
Until now, reactor manufacturers — along with the most powerful names in big tech — have not been able to find a suitable place to build clusters of nuclear reactors that can supply the power needed for artificial intelligence endeavors, data centers and other projects.
'Plain and simple: the United States needs more power,' said Chancellor John Sharp. 'And nowhere in the country, other than Texas, is anyone willing to step up and build the power plants we need. Thanks to the leadership of Gov. Greg Abbott and others in Texas state government, Texas A&M System stands ready to step up and do what is necessary for the country to thrive.'
Chief executive officers from four nuclear companies — Kairos Power, Natura Resources, Terrestrial Energy and Aalo Atomics — all have agreed to work to bring reactors to Texas A&M-RELLIS, a 2,400-acre technology and innovation campus in Bryan, Texas, as part of a project dubbed 'The Energy Proving Ground.'
At the site, the companies will work toward bringing commercial-ready technologies to the land and using the project to test the latest prototypes.
The first reactors could be constructed within five years. Once it is completed, power generated at the proving ground could supply power to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, as it is more commonly called.
Utah was on the cusp of bringing a small modular reactor to life to serve independent power systems run by municipalities. Named the Carbon Free Power Project, the reactors would have been manufactured off-site and then trucked to the Idaho National Laboratory. The project pushed by the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems went through a laborious permitting process through the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It was the first small modular reactor in the country to receive a stamp of approval on its design.
But the delays and the escalating costs associated with the energy production eventually led to shelving the project, but UAMPS officials have said it is not totally off the table if costs come down. Congress is in the midst of tackling the permitting process and passed the ADVANCE Act to streamline the licensing process by the NRC.
Top tech companies are attempting to solve the problem on their own by inking contracts with nuclear energy companies to provide the energy they need. They include Google and Amazon.