HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah (AP) 鈥� The Pentagon and the Energy Department for the first time airlifted a small nuclear reactor from California to Utah, demonstrating what they say is the U.S. potential to quickly deploy nuclear power for military and civilian use.
The nearly 700-mile flight last weekend 鈥� which transported a 5-megawatt microreactor without nuclear fuel 鈥� highlights the Trump administration鈥檚 drive to promote nuclear energy to help meet as well as for use by the military.
Energy Secretary and Undersecretary of Defense Michael Duffey, who traveled with the privately built reactor, hailed the Feb. 15 trip on a C-17 military aircraft as a breakthrough for U.S. efforts to fast-track commercial licensing for the microreactors, part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to reshape the country’s energy landscape.
A new emphasis on nuclear energy
President Donald Trump supports nuclear power 鈥� a carbon-free source of electricity 鈥� as a reliable energy source, even as he has been broadly and .
Skeptics warn that nuclear energy poses risks and say microreactors may not be safe or feasible and have not proved they can meet demand for a reasonable price.
Wright brushed those concerns aside as he touted progress on Trump鈥檚 . Trump signed a series of executive orders last year that allow Wright to approve some advanced reactor designs and projects, taking authority away from the independent Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which has regulated the U.S. nuclear industry for five decades.
鈥淭oday is history. A multi-megawatt, next-generation nuclear power plant is loaded in the C-17 behind us,鈥� Wright said before the two-hour flight from March Air Reserve Base in California to Hill Air Force Base in Utah.
The minivan-sized reactor transported by the military is one of at least three that will reach 鈥渃riticality鈥� 鈥� when a nuclear reaction can sustain an ongoing series of reactions 鈥� by July 4, as Trump has promised, Wright said.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 speed, that鈥檚 innovation, that鈥檚 the start of a nuclear renaissance,鈥� he said.
Microreactors would be for civilian and military use
Currently, there are in the U.S. that generate about 19% of the country鈥檚 electricity, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That’s down from 104 reactors in 2013 and includes that were the nation’s first large reactors built from scratch in a generation.
Recognizing delays inherent to deployment of new, full-scale reactors, the industry and government have focused in recent years on more efficient designs, including a proposed by the nation鈥檚 largest public power company, the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Microreactors, designed to be portable, can 鈥渁ccelerate the delivery of resilient power to where it鈥檚 needed,鈥� Duffey said. Eventually, the mobile reactors could provide energy security on a military base without the civilian grid, he and other officials said.
The demonstration flight 鈥済ets us closer to deploy nuclear power when and where it is needed to give our nation鈥檚 warfighters the tools to win in battle,鈥� Duffey said.
The reactor transported to Utah will be able to generate up to 5 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 5,000 homes, said Isaiah Taylor, CEO of Valar Atomics, the California startup that produced the reactor. The company hopes to start selling power on a test basis next year and become fully commercial in 2028.
Some safety concerns haven’t been addressed, experts say
Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the transport flight 鈥� which included a throng of reporters, photographers and TV news crews 鈥� was little more than 鈥渁 dog-and-pony show鈥� that merely demonstrated the Pentagon’s ability to ship a piece of heavy equipment.
The flight 鈥渄oesn’t answer any questions about whether the project is feasible, economic, workable or safe 鈥� for the military and the public,鈥� Lyman said in an interview.
The Trump administration 鈥渉asn’t made the safety case鈥� for how microreactors, once loaded with nuclear fuel, can be transported securely to data centers or military bases, Lyman said.
Officials also have not resolved how nuclear waste will be disposed of, although Wright said the Energy Department is in talks with Utah and other states to host sites that could reprocess fuel or handle permanent disposal.
The microreactor flown to Utah will be sent to the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab for testing and evaluation, Wright said. Fuel will be provided by the Nevada National Security site, Taylor said.
鈥淭he answer to energy is always more,鈥� Wright said. After four years of restrictions on fossil fuels and other polluting energy under the Biden administration, he said, 鈥淣ow we鈥檙e trying to set everything free. And nuclear will be flying soon.鈥�
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