CEDAR CITY, Utah — Rocky Mountain Power said things are moving forward with an experiment in small-scale nuclear power at its retired coal plant in Kemmerer, Wyo.
"Terrapower is making a lot of progress. They’ve put a lot of steel in the ground, they’re moving forward with their construction. They’ve got their construction permit," Dick Garlish, the president of Rocky Mountain Power, told FOX 13 News while attending Governor Spencer Cox's "One Utah Summit" in Cedar City.
The plant is being converted into a small-scale nuclear facility to generate electricity as part of Rocky Mountain Power's grid.
"What it means for consumers is diversification, generation of resources, good dispatchable baseload energy, clean energy in an affordable way through our power purchase arrangement," Garlish said.
Gov. Cox and Republican legislative leaders have pushed nuclear power in Utah to meet growing energy demands. The governor announced "Operation Gigawatt" at this same event last year. Since then, the state has signed numerous memorandums of understanding with companies seeking to get in on the nuclear space. Utah's Department of Environmental Quality confirmed to FOX 13 News it will create a special office within its agency to deal with nuclear power.
"We can build a nuclear regulatory office, which will allow us to move nuclear permitting faster but still make sure it’s safe here in Utah," DEQ Executive Director Tim Davis said in an interview.
Energy talk dominates Governor Cox's 'One Utah Summit':
Though state leaders are quick to point out this is not the giant nuclear silos of generations past, environmental and nuclear watchdog groups still raise a lot of concerns about Utah's plans.
"It is experimental, but at the same time this is where you get innovation," said Dr. Logan Mitchell, a climate scientist with Utah Clean Energy.
Utah Clean Energy, LDS Earth Stewardship, HEALUtah and Brigham Young University's Sustainability Office will host a public discussion on Wednesday, Oct. 8 about the pros and cons of nuclear power in the state. Dr. Mitchell said people will hear from people with varying opinions on it.
The event takes place at the Joseph Fielding Smith Building at BYU starting at 6pm.
"The jury, I think, is still out about whether the public is excited about it or whether it’s top down or bottom up," Dr. Mitchell said in an interview with FOX 13 News. "Because there are concerns, there are real concerns and they need to be addressed it in a real and pragmatic way."
Dr. Mitchell said he would like to see the state devote more to geothermal energy, which is also expanding within the state.
Davis said he wants to ensure people are informed about what is happening with nuclear power.
"I think we have to do our job at the state to make sure that people feel like bringing nuclear here will be safe, to address their fears," he said.
