HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah — The Department of Defense and Department of Energy’s advanced nuclear reactor arrived at Hill Air Force Base Sunday afternoon.
Officials say this marked a significant milestone in this Administration’s push to ensure rapid development of advanced nuclear technologies.
Isaiah Taylor, the CEO of Valar Atomics, joined Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Undersecretary of Defense Michael Duffey for the first C17 airlift of a next- generation nuclear reactor. The reactor was flown from March Air Reserve Base in California.
“Coal built the industrial age, oil won the wars of the 20th century, and nuclear energy deployed at speed and with American ingenuity will power the century ahead,” Taylor said in his opening speech.
Taylor said that the specific reactor brought to Utah is built for five megawatts electric, which he said is enough to power 5,000 homes and most military bases. Eventually, he added that it will be used to power commercial operations like data centers and advanced manufacturing.
Duffey added that they’re working closely with the Department of Energy and said this transformation in technology is a necessity.
“Our military installations are reliant on a fragile civilian grid for a majority of our electricity. In an era where enemy cyberattack and sabotage or extreme weather can take out the grid at any moment, failure to evolve our domestic energy infrastructure will be catastrophic. Today is a critical step towards a stronger future,” Duffey said.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox also took the stage at the event.
“Utah is not hesitant about advanced nuclear,” Cox said. "We want it, we’re building it and we are ready to lead. Through 'Operation Gigawatt,' we have set an ambitious but necessary goal to double Utah’s production over the next few years.”
He was also joined by U.S. Sen. John Curtis. They both said they are ready to lead the state and country in this kind of innovation.
From Hill Air Force Base, this reactor will be moved to Utah San Rafael Energy Lab in Orangeville for evaluation and testing.
Curtis said this will make a difference in both Carbon and Emery counties.
“It really shows that it’s an energy center,” Curtis said. "That’s what they want to be. We’ve got geothermal going in our rural parts of the state, and I really believe you’re going to see all sorts of innovation in the rural parts of Utah."
Taylor said the nuclear fuel for this project is coming from the Nevada National Security Site.
When asked about waste disposal, Wright said that waste disposal has been a problem in the U.S., but this year, they’re creating a program change that.
“Instead of imposing it on one location, we have an open process going on right now to see who wants to host an innovation campus. It will do all sorts of things from reprocessing to fuel fabrication to enrichment to nuclear reactors to permanent disposal of the waste that remains after reprocessing,” Wright said.
Wright said Utah is one of the states that has shown interest in that program.
The goal of the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program to have three reactors by July 4.
