CEDAR CITY, Utah — Governor Spencer Cox has unveiled "Operation Gigawatt," an effort to boost Utah's energy supply by developing nuclear and geothermal power in the state.
"We have to do something bold. We have to change the way we develop power in the state of Utah," he told a crowd at his One Utah Summit here at Southern Utah University.
Faced with growth and increasing demands for energy, the governor and state energy leaders announced the plan to expand Utah's energy production.
"There is such enormous demand and growth in our state we need to provide this for the well-being of all Utahns," Joel Ferry, the executive director of Utah's Department of Natural Resources said.
Some of the demands are also being driven by data centers and the dramatic expansion of artificial intelligence, the governor said. To help ensure a clean, reliable energy supply, Gov. Cox said he would look at nuclear energy.
"That’s going to be a big push for us," he told FOX 13 News after his remarks.
It would not be a full-size nuclear plant, but smaller-scale nuclear that is being experimented in other states. The governor said he did not think Utah's new push into nuclear power would face opposition like it has in the past (particularly given the state's history of "downwinders" from Nevada atomic testing).
"We’re not blowing nuclear things up, right? So it’s very different," Gov. Cox said. "The technology has changed so much. That’s how we convince people, understanding that this nuclear energy actually has less waste than past nuclear waste. It’s cleaner."
Dusty Monks with Utah's Office of Energy Development told the One Utah Summit that talks were already under way with the federal government.
"As you know we don’t have a nuclear reactor in this state, commercial scale, so we need to make sure we have a policy pathway. Policies that align with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission," he said, adding that a consortium would also be created to work on it.
But one environmental group that has fought nuclear waste in Utah said while there may some worthwhile investments in Gov. Cox's "Operation Gigawatt," it still has concerns.
"HEAL continues to have concerns about nuclear energy, its costs, timeline and overall impact on mitigating climate change," said Lexi Tuddenham, the executive director of the Healthy Environmental Alliance of Utah. "As well as the entire nuclear fuel chain form the beginning from which it's mined as well as its final disposal."
Beyond nuclear power, the state is also looking to expand geothermal energy production. Such plants are being built in Beaver County, which has found it economically beneficial.
"Economically, it’s huge infrastructure investment," Beaver County Commissioner Tammy Pearson told FOX 13 News. "Lots of property taxes and stuff that are going to come into that. The jobs that come in are sustainable and higher wages."
Recently, the Utah State Legislature has adopted an "all of the above" approach to energy production to meet growth demands, ensure reliable supply and keep costs low. Critics have attacked the state's policies as too reliant on fossil fuels in the face of climate change, propping up coal and not leaning into renewable sources.
House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, defended the approach.
"We have to have nuclear, we have to have coal, we have to have wind, we have to have solar and geothermal," he said.
"Operation Gigawatt" is going to cost Utah taxpayers money. FOX 13 News is told the initial investment for nuclear would be around $50 million and another $5 million for geothermal expansion. Speaker Schultz said lawmakers would look at funding requests, but they need to keep a reliable and affordable power supply.
"Utah cannot have brownouts and blackouts like other states are dealing with. That is a reality and if we don’t get ahead of this we will experience it," he said.
Gov. Cox said energy companies will kick in money.
"These companies have money. And they’re willing to invest and not to balance it on the backs of taxpayers and ratepayers. We need to have the regulatory system to allow that to happen," he said.
