By Anastasia Hufham | The Salt Lake Tribune | Photo by David J. Phillip | Associated Press
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox recently announced that the state has partnered with a California startup to bring a nuclear test reactor to the state.
What he didn’t mention is that the state and the company, Valar Atomics, are looking into making the nuclear fuel in Utah, too.
According to a memorandum of understanding obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune through a public records request, Utah’s Office of Energy Development and Valar Atomics “may collaborate to evaluate Valar activating a nuclear test reactor… and TRISO fuel fabrication” at the San Rafael Energy Research Center in Emery County.
Tracy Rees, a public information officer for the Utah Office of Energy Development, added that “this is all the documentation we have at this time.”
“Nuclear reactors need fuel to operate, and the U.S. has been safely operating reactors for decades,” she said.
“The [Nuclear Regulatory Commission] has a robust regulatory framework to ensure public and environmental safety,” Rees continued. “One of the reasons it takes so long to deploy nuclear power is the depth and breadth of our country’s regulatory framework. Any nuclear operations in the state will be subject to NRC regulations.”
The memo is dated May 16, though the governor and Valar Atomics CEO Isaiah Taylor did not announce their partnership until May 23. Also on May 23, President Donald Trump issued executive orders directing the U.S. Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to streamline nuclear reactor testing and fast-track the construction of nuclear power plants.
Read more at SLTrib.com
This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.