Gov. Spencer Cox (R) announced Monday that Brigham City, Utah was selected to host small modular reactors (SMR) and manufacturing and training facilities.
Hi Tech Solutions and Holtec International have teamed up with Utah to make Brigham City “a hub for Utah’s nuclear renaissance,” according to their joint press release.
The proposed project for Brigham City will deploy Holtec’s SMR-300 reactor, create educational and workforce pipelines and bring manufacturing jobs to rural Utah, according to the release. SMR-300 is a pressurized light water reactor with an output of 300 megawatts.
Hi Tech Solutions, a nuclear support services company based in Kennewick, Wash., will lead the project’s training and workforce development.
According to Utah news outlet KSL’s Monday article, Cox, Brigham City Mayor DJ Bott and representatives from Holtec and Hi Tech Solutions said there are plans to develop four to 10 SMRs in the Brigham City area.
The release said the site of the project was strategically placed in Northern Utah’s defense and aerospace corridor. The planned nuclear plant could generate power for potential civilian and military use, Cox said, according to the article.
With the project’s announcement, it will go through state and federal review, including the National Environmental Policy Act and Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversight.
In May, Hi Tech Solutions, Holtec and the state of Utah signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) focused on establishing a “nuclear energy ecosystem” in the Mountain West region.
The MOU supports Cox’s “Operation Gigawatt” and “Built Here” strategic initiatives, which are strategies that would double energy production in Utah within 10 years.
The two state initiatives also emphasize expanding clean energy policies, including support for nuclear power. The state of Utah currently has no operating nuclear power plants.
“Energy security is national security, and Utah is stepping up to lead,” Cox said in the release.