ECA Update: KENTUCKY SENATE PASSES NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENT BILL; and more
Published: Tue, 02/27/24
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
BILL SUPPORTING DEVELOPMENT OF NUCLEAR ENERGY WINS PASSAGE IN KENTUCKY SENATE
Associated Press | 02/26/2024
The Kentucky Senate voted overwhelmingly Monday to lay the foundation to
attract nuclear energy projects to a state where coal has dominated and fueled the economy for generations.
Republican Sen.
Danny Carroll said Kentucky should embrace a cross-section of sources — including coal, natural gas and renewable energy — to meet its energy needs, but stressed that his legislation would prepare the Bluegrass State for what he sees as the inevitable surge of nuclear energy.
“I believe that Kentucky needs to continue forward with an all-of-the-above approach,” he said. "However, I also firmly believe that nuclear is the future of this commonwealth. And it’s imperative that this commonwealth stay in the forefront and not get left behind.”
His measure passed the Senate on a 34-0 vote, with coalfield senators joining in support. The bill heads to the House next. Republicans have supermajorities in both chambers. By the same tally, the Senate
adopted a related resolution directing the state Public Service Commission to prepare for nuclear energy.
To develop that
foundation, Senate Bill 198 would establish the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority. It would be attached to the University of Kentucky’s Center for Applied Energy Research and would be governed by an advisory board with members representing various stakeholder groups.
The authority would be a nonregulatory agency on issues related to nuclear energy and its development in Kentucky. It also would support development of a “nuclear energy ecosystem” meant to enhance the economy, protect the environment, support community voices and prepare the future workforce.
The bill would set in motion a site suitability study to identify the best potential locations for nuclear reactors and related facilities. The authority would set criteria
for voluntary designations as a “nuclear-ready community." Such a designation would signal to the nuclear industry that "these communities are open to nuclear –- whether it be a reactor, whether it be related industry,” Carroll said.
The accompanying resolution would require the Public Service Commission to review “every aspect of what they do to make sure that when that first licensure request comes, that they're not scrambling for six months to a year trying to figure out how to handle that particular situation,” Carroll said.
The package of nuclear legislation sailed through the Senate with little discussion. It resulted from legislative action last year that created the Nuclear Energy Working Group.
Democratic Sen. Robin Webb on Monday pointed to her ties to coal and how times have changed. She described herself as "a former coal miner who never thought
she’d be on a nuclear task force.” Webb also said the state needs to embrace a diversified energy portfolio for years to come.
WHY THIS IS A PIVOTAL MOMENT FOR HANFORD'S NUCLEAR WASTE CLEANUP
The Seattle Times | 02/25/2024
Fifty-five million gallons of radioactive waste.
A decadeslong timeline reaching easily into 2070.
A complex assembly involving several state and federal agencies, private contractors, tens of thousands of workers, local residents, and advocates all invested in a colossal effort, estimated to be the largest nuclear cleanup project in the world.
The Hanford site in Benton County is at a pivotal moment, set to finally transform the nuclear leftovers of a century past into glass that can be
safely stored — a process called vitrification. Last October, the first of two melters used to actually vitrify the waste became active, with the second melter scheduled to launch this spring.
The project’s success — or failure — will ultimately influence the future of a dilemma that has long plagued the Northwest and the U.S.
“They’re doing something out there that has never been done before,” said Nikolas Peterson, the executive director of Hanford Challenge, a nonprofit watchdog.
“I think I have to constantly remind myself of that even when I’m critical of the facility.”
For staff at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, who are developing and testing the glass
formulations, this moment in time feels significant.
“It’s really exciting to see how far it’s come,” said Tom Brouns, the lead of
the environmental manager sector at PNNL, who’s worked at Hanford for more than 30 years.
“It’s taking a long time but it’s so
close.”
How it works
Vitrification is not a new
technology. The same process is used in making pottery, where high heat is applied to a material that leads to metamorphosis of the original substance.
Researchers in France have studied the vitrification of nuclear waste going back to the 1950s, and the country successfully built several facilities to tackle cleanup. Within this specialized industry, it’s considered one of the best methods to stabilize waste — it’s expensive but performs well over long periods of time (hundreds or thousands of years) and is an international standard when it comes to managing waste with high levels of radioactivity.
The process to vitrify waste at Hanford is highly complex and involves multiple steps.
It starts with a removal system that separates high-level waste that’s more toxic and radioactive from low-activity waste that is simpler to process and store. According to a 2023
report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, about 95% of the waste in storage tanks is low activity when it comes to the physical volume. High-level waste only comprises about 5% of the volume but more than 70% of the radioactivity.
Separating the waste is crucial to better management, treatment and disposal.
REGISTRATION IS LIVE FOR ECA's New Nuclear Forum: Building Nuclear Partnerships and Projects, May 8-9, 2024 in Kennewick,
WA
ECA is excited to be hosting its third New Nuclear Forum, the only meeting designed to bring together DOE, federal, state, local and tribal governments and policymakers with developers, utilities,
regulators, industry, and academia to identify opportunities, challenges and to build the partnerships necessary to support nuclear development.
Communities across the country are considering nuclear projects for many reasons - from diversifying regional economies, creating clean energy jobs or meeting carbon reduction goals, to increasing energy security and rebuilding the U.S. supply chain. Some communities have a familiarity with nuclear energy projects, while others are just beginning to evaluate potential interest. The ECA
Forum is designed to enable shared learning so that local, State and Tribal governments evaluating nuclear projects can be meaningfully engaged - and prepared - to match the strengths and needs of their communities with new nuclear opportunities.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND? The ECA Forum is open to communities, State, Tribal and local policymakers, industry, utilities,
developers, experts, financiers, state legislators, community groups, and economic development organizations working to build capacity and support for new nuclear development in the U.S.
MEETING GOALS: This meeting
is part of ECA's New Nuclear Initiative to define the role of local governments in supporting the development of the new nuclear technologies, and answer three core questions:
What do communities need to
know to attract and support new nuclear development/missions?
How can communities support industry, national laboratories, state, and federal governments and how should they communicate about local resources and development opportunities?
What hurdles and challenges will communities face - along with industry and
developers - and who can we work with to overcome them?
AGENDA: ECA, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy, has developed an agenda that continues to look
holistically at the what a nuclear project entails: from the front-end of the fuel-cycle to the back-end of the fuel cycle, from building local support, to state support and enabling legislation, from identifying the right public-private partnerships, to understanding regulatory oversight. Session topics include:
How to Build Community Acceptance
Reusing Energy Sites for New Nuclear Development
Understanding Industrial Applications of Nuclear Energy
Pursuing a Reliable, Domestic Nuclear Fuel Supply
Rebuilding the U.S. Nuclear
Supply
OPTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: Tuesday, May 7, 2024: ECA is offering an optional "Nuclear 101" for participants new to nuclear energy. Friday, May 10, 2024: ECA is offering an optional tour: Historic Hanford Tour / Future of Nuclear around Hanford Tour. Additional registration will be required and openings are limited.
QUESTIONS? For any questions, comments, or to learn more about the ECA New Nuclear Forums, please contact Kara Colton,
ECA Director of Nuclear Policy, at kara.colton@energyca.org or Faith Sanchez, ECA Program Director, at faiths@energyca.org.
As we near the end of Black History Month, this week’s podcast features the story of the Scarboro 85. In August 1955, 85 young African American students entered all-white classrooms in
the Oak Ridge High School and the Robertsville Junior High School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. This desegregation stands as an important milestone in American civil rights history.
DISPOSAL DRIVES CLEANUP: RE-ENERGIZING MOMENTUM FOR DISPOSAL SOLUTIONS FOR RADIOACTIVE WASTE
This report calls on the Department of Energy to launch the initiative to develop the actual waste disposition approaches. The Department could potentially save hundreds of billions of dollars in cleanup costs by using its available tools and implementing the report’s recommendations.
Interactive guide for communities and governments to help navigate nuclear waste cleanup
The Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) recently released the Guide to Successful Environmental Cleanup, an interactive online resource that provides frequently asked questions, case studies, and recommendations regarding nuclear waste cleanup.
To assist local government officials, their communities, and federal agencies in deciphering
the complexities of the environmental cleanup process, ECA developed this guide to facilitate future successful cleanups.
Read the latest edition of the ECA Bulletin, a regular newsletter providing a detailed brief of ECA activities,
legislative news, and major events from across the DOE complex. Have suggestions for future editions? Email bulletin@energyca.org.
Learn More about Cleanup Sites with ECA's DOE Site Profiles
ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national
laboratories, highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, stakeholders, and the public to learn more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local governments.
