The Department of Energy issued a request for information (RFI) Wednesday seeking states interested in hosting Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses.
The proposed campuses must support capabilities of the full nuclear fuel cycle, such as fuel fabrication, enrichment, reprocessing spent nuclear fuel and disposal of waste, according to DOE’s press release.
The approach could be more attractive to states than merely asking communities to host spent fuel storage or disposal facilities, according to at least one source Exchange Monitor spoke with recently. Politico recently reported that states could receive incentives to deal with nuclear waste.
DOE under President Joe Biden’s administration pursued a consent-based siting approach to interim waste storage proposals. The Trump administration has tweaked this to a “collaborative” approach, according to DOE.
The campuses could also support functions such as advanced reactor deployment and co-located data centers “through integrated, forward-looking solutions, consistent with national safety, security, stewardship, long-term and fiscal responsibility goals,” according to the RFI.
The economic impact of the campuses are projected to be “significant, with investments and economic activity that could reach billions of dollars over the coming decades, subject to market conditions, policy choices, future budget decisions, and availability of appropriations,” to the solicitation.
DOE is seeking states to provide statements of interest and feedback on the structure of the campuses. The submissions should include priorities such as workforce development or economic diversification and the scope of activities the state plans to host, according to the release.
Responses to the RFI are due April 1.
DOE said the campuses are a new effort to modernize the United States’s full nuclear fuel cycle. This marks the first step towards possibly creating “voluntary federal-state partnerships designed to advance regional economic growth, enhance national energy security, and build a coherent, end-to-end nuclear energy strategy for the country,” DOE added.
“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,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.