The Department of Energy plans to formally announce its selections for the Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus program later this month and the states of Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah could be winners, a senior industry source told Exchange Monitor Monday.
When reached Monday a DOE Office of Nuclear Energy spokesperson would not comment on what states might be selected but did say the announcement will likely be made later this month.
The Monitor also reached out to state agencies in charge of the nuclear hub submissions in Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah and received no immediate reply Monday afternoon.
DOE’s Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus, published Jan. 28, is the Donald Trump administration’s program to gauge states’ interest in potentially hosting spent nuclear fuel storage and related facilities. Uranium enrichment, conversion and fuel fabrication are other nuclear projects that could be involved. .
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said during an April House Appropriations Energy and Water subcommittee budget hearing that 28 states responded to the solicitation. Agreements with the selected states are expected to be made by the end of the summer.