Utah embraces the next step in nuclear energy — fuel
Another nuclear fuel enrichment processing facility is much needed in the United States. The only plant in the country that does this type of sophisticated work is in New Mexico, and it is currently running at capacity.
'Utah is filling the gap of what exists in the energy chain,' said Joel Ferry, the executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources.
At a press conference Thursday, the Utah National Guard, Utah Energy and others outlined the plan to put Utah on the map as a major player in the nation's energy sphere — especially when it comes to next generation nuclear technology.
'We have to be ambitious because we are so far behind,' said Drew DeWalt with Utah Energy. 'We've been working around the margins.'
DeWalt added: 'We are in a business of chance. ... We do not want to be flatfooted.'
Emery, Grand, Carbon, Wayne and San Juan counties are full of uranium deposits. Utah is also home to the only processing mill for uranium — White Mesa in Blanding — but it does not take the uranium and turn it into fuel there.
DeWalt said the uranium deposits in Utah put the state in an enviable position. But, unlike Europe and elsewhere, the United States has been hesitant to take up this new energy source, despite receiving 20 percent of its power from old-school nuclear power plants.
'Nuclear has not been a growth industry for a lot of decades, but it felt like a ground shift about three years ago,' DeWalt said. 'You should want this, but it is 'no we are good.' The energy need is so important in every state.'
What is proposed to happen at Camp Williams is the task of taking that uranium and refining it for fuel in the advanced nuclear reactors.
The Idaho National Laboratory describes HALEU as high-assay low-enriched uranium.
'HALEU fuel has some big advantages over conventional light water reactor fuel including longer cycle times in reactor, less waste production and less downtime for refueling.
'With HALEU, advanced reactors can get increased fuel in-core lifetimes because you have higher enrichment,' said Adrian Wagner, a metallurgical engineer and INL's Advanced Manufacturing group lead. 'In simple terms, higher enrichment means more uranium-235 atoms in each pellet.'
The U.S. Department of Energy warned last year that the Russian war with Ukraine will drive the need for the development of this fuel.
Russia has roughly 44% of the world's uranium enrichment capacity and supplies approximately 35% of our imports for nuclear fuel.
The transition away from Russian-sourced fuel will not happen overnight.
'The Department of Energy estimates that U.S. utilities have roughly three years of LEU (low enriched uranium) available through existing inventory or pre-existing contracts. To ensure our plants do not experience any disruptions, we're creating a waiver process to allow some imports of LEU from Russia to continue for a limited time,' the agency said.
When questioned about safety, DeWalt and others said this material already travels along the I-15 corridor, and environmental and safety protocols will be strictly followed should the project come to fruition.
Ferry said this agreement, which will go through several public hearings and is slated to be discussed next week at interim legislative committee meetings, will be vetted and rigorously scrutinized.
He talked about Operation Gigawatt, an initiative announced last year by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to double energy production in the state in 10 years.
Utah is no longer coloring outside the lines or dabbling in what could be a clean, renewable energy resource to sustain the grid, he added. Utah, he emphasized, is committed because it has to be.
'Utah has always been a leader,' he said. 'Operation Gigawatt builds on our ecosystem' of energy.
As it is with most projects, a fuel processing facility at Camp Williams will have to go through a lengthy environmental review process as well as the scrutiny of licensing via the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
DeWalt stressed that should this come to pass, residents in southwest Salt Lake County are not going to see giant smokestacks spewing steam. This will look like any other warehouse, but it will pump up Utah's economy and make the state an energy pioneer.
The future, he emphasized, is coming — via clean, baseload energy that despite what critics say can be safe.
DeWalt spent his early career working on nuclear submarines. The USS Nautilus, launched in 1954, was the world's first nuclear-powered submarine. Its successful operation demonstrated the capability and viability of nuclear power for submarines, creating a path for more advanced nuclear-powered vessels.
'I would not be doing this if I did not think there were going to be advanced reactors in every community,' he said.
The Office of Energy Development under Ferry is on board to pursue this venture and wants the Utah community to learn more and become engaged in the science.
'This is generational,' Ferry said.
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