The House Energy and Commerce Committee’’s Energy subcommittee plans a Tuesday hearing on the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses that would co-locate fuel cycle activities with advanced nuclear energy projects.
Announced Sept. 8, the hearing, titled: “Nuclear Spent Fuel Policy: Examining Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses”, will be held Tuesday at 10 a.m. Eastern Time in Room 2123 in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C.
The program is the Donald Trump administration’s effort to address closing the backend of the nuclear fuel cycle. Last month, Marla Morales, DOE’s acting deputy assistant for spent fuel and high-level waste disposition, said in a webinar that waste disposal is the most prominent factor of the initiative.
A few months ago, the Trump White House proposed draft legislation to remove Yucca Mountain in Nevada as the sole authorized repository site in the country. If enacted, such legislation could open the door for other states to develop a deep geological repository to store high-level radioactive waste.
While waste disposal is at the forefront of the program, the campus could also offer other capabilities, such as an advanced reactor deployment, fuel fabrication and uranium enrichment. Currently, six states have been selected as finalists for the program.