Gov. Spencer Cox, along with other state and local leaders, gathered in the desert of Tooele County to announce a plan to apply to the U.S. Department of Energy to make the area home to a new nuclear campus.
The proposed area is located 55 miles west of the Salt Lake City International Airport and about 65 miles east of the Utah-Nevada border.
The campus is meant to support activities across the full nuclear fuel lifecycle, including fuel fabrication, enrichment, reprocessing used nuclear fuel and disposition of waste, according to the DOE.
“Unleashing the next American nuclear renaissance will drive innovation, fuel economic growth, and create good-paying American jobs while delivering the affordable, reliable and secure energy America needs to power its future,” said U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright in a January press release. “Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses give us the opportunity to work directly with states on regional priorities that support President Trump’s vision to revitalize America’s nuclear base.”
Cox said the area in northwestern Tooele County is perfect for an innovation campus.
“The geology, the arid climate, existing infrastructure, distance from major population centers and some of the very best people on planet Earth, make it one of the most practical locations for this kind of work.”
Cox also said that the innovation campus has the potential to bring in billions of dollars in revenue for the state, along with providing thousands of jobs. Cox explained the efficiency of nuclear power.
“[Nuclear energy offers] something very few resources can: reliable around-the-clock power with a small land footprint and extremely low emissions.”
Many are concerned about the water the campus would require, but Cox said that it will actually use less than other energy sources.
“If we’re serious about saving the Great Salt Lake, we have to be serious about how we produce energy. Technologies that use less water directly support the long-term health of the lake. That is part of the opportunity that lies before us.”
This is marked as the next step in Utah’s Operation Gigawatt 10-year plan.
Author: Lainey Porter
Photo: Katie McKellar, Utah News Dispatch
Editor: Hannah Clove
news@suunews.net
