Support for nuclear power has climbed in the past few years as concerns over climate change and grid reliability have mounted. While nuclear energy is clean, safe, and reliable, it has been held back in large part due to economics and a lack of a permanent storage repository for spent nuclear fuel. Broken policy is a big contributor to both, artificially inflating the cost of nuclear power and resulting in an inability to fully manage spent fuel. A recent House Energy and Commerce hearing examined the U.S. policy toward spent fuel management and ways to unleash its recycling and permanent storage. 

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When the U.S. began its build-out of nuclear power plants in the ’60s, the industry planned to handle waste through spent fuel recycling. In 1963 Idaho National Laboratory (INL) began reprocessing spent fuel and in 1966 the Atomic Energy Commission (the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s predecessor) licensed a fuel reprocessing facility near Buffalo, New York. 

Proliferation concerns halted the U.S. build-out of fuel reprocessing in 1976. In 1982 Congress passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) which directed the Department of Energy (DOE) to site and build a permanent repository for spent fuel. DOE ultimately picked Yucca Mountain in Nevada because of its unique geological structure—the site is in the middle of the desert, 1,000 feet below the ground and 1,000 feet above the water table. 

Political boondoggling halted the project, leaving spent fuel at interim storage sites (which are often next to nuclear power plants) around the nation. Because DOE still has the obligation to handle this waste, utilities, which were paying into the Nuclear Waste Fund—an account that taxed nuclear power production to fund the construction of a permanent repository—successfully sued the federal government for failing to fulfill its duties under the NWPA. As a result, taxpayers have been forced to pay utilities nearly $9 billion since 1998 to house spent fuel. 

Members agreed that the current situation is untenable. Rep. Jeff Duncan, the Chair of the Subcommittee, stated, “[S]pent nuclear fuel is stored safely on sites, but the federal government must fulfill its legal responsibility and reduce the cost burden to taxpayers and ratepayers.” Meanwhile, Dr. John Wagner, the director of INL and witness at the hearing said: 

Addressing these challenges will require legislative reforms and technological breakthroughs. In terms of policy, the expert witnesses encouraged the lawmakers to reform the NWPA with the 2012 Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future recommendations in mind. These include forming a new federal organization with a singular mission to manage spent fuel, establishing a consent-based siting approach for future repositories (the only recommendation implemented to date), and creating a consolidated repository for nuclear fuel. 

The witnesses also noted that while reprocessing is in the national interest—96% of the nation’s spent fuel could be reprocessed and fully meet our energy needs for the next 100 years—it is expensive. Dr. Wagner pointed out that France’s nuclear fuel recycling, considered the global gold standard, is done not because it is economical, but because it is a part of the nation’s federal policy. And while nuclear fuel recycling could address a large share of our spent fuel inventory, a permanent repository is still needed. 

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While the policy in this space is lacking, private sector innovations are not. Curio, for instance, is working closely with Idaho National Lab (INL) to build a reprocessing facility harnessing its NuCycle technology. The company is planning to open a facility the size of an NFL stadium that will be able to reprocess 4,000 tons of waste annually. The U.S. currently has about 90,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel.

Oklo is creating a microreactor with a closed-loop fuel cycle that will recycle the waste its plants generate. The company is also working with INL to demonstrate its Aurora reactor at the lab’s facilities. 

As Oklo and Curio demonstrate, the biggest hurdle to durable spent fuel management is the federal government’s control of the process. While the federal government should own the spent fuel long-term because it is in the interest of public safety and health, the private sector can more effectively manage and reprocess spent fuel than the government could and at a lower cost. 

Additionally, several public-private initiatives could create durable reprocessing solutions. The DOE’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program is working with TerraPower to deploy the Natrium sodium-cooled fast reactor in Kemmerer, Wyoming. Like the fast reactors the U.S. developed in the 1960s, Natrium will be able to run on spent fuel. 

The lack of a spent fuel repository should not discourage the U.S. from pursuing nuclear power. At the same time, the current status quo is not sustainable for taxpayers or the industry. The private sector is ready to address America’s spent fuel needs. Now it’s up to policymakers to implement laws to streamline innovation and provide a comprehensive strategy to address spent fuel.

Business leaders, elected officials, and policy experts recently gathered at the Supercharge North Carolina Manufacturing and Energy Summit to celebrate the state’s leadership and discuss ways to drive innovation forward. John Hart was in attendance promoting C3 Solutions’ message of advancing economic freedom to accelerate environmental progress. The event included a keynote address from Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), who said:

North Carolina is a national leader in clean power generation with abundant shares of nuclear and solar energy. The Tar Heel State ranks fourth nationwide in solar production and in 2022 renewables generated 14% of North Carolina’s electricity. Nuclear power, meanwhile, meets nearly one-third of the state’s electricity needs making North Carolina the fifth-largest nuclear power-producing state in the U.S. 

John Hart speaks with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) at Supercharge NC.

At the same time, North Carolina is leading the charge toward developing the next generation of chip and battery technology, receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in public and private investment through recent pieces of federal legislation including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. 

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State policymakers have implemented a series of pro-growth policies to catalyze investment in the Tar Heel State. Last year, the legislature passed HB130, which prohibits local governments from implementing ordinances that prohibit connection, reconnection, modification, or expansion of an energy service based on the type and source of the energy provided. This bill will benefit job creators who pay commercial and industrial utility rates by providing flexibility and predictability for investing in clean energy sources.

The General Assembly also passed SB678 in 2023 which modified the state’s renewable energy portfolio standard to a technology-neutral clean energy portfolio standard that includes nuclear power. While it would be more ambitious to eliminate such mandates altogether, a technology-inclusive approach is better than one that singles out renewables. 

The state has set ambitious goals to reduce emissions by 70% (versus 2005 levels) by 2035, before reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. To meet these goals North Carolina’s utilities will shutter the state’s remaining coal plants by 2035 and pursue a broad set of technologies including natural gas, nuclear power (traditional and advanced), and renewable energy and storage. 

A mix of pro-growth energy policies and competitive tax rates have attracted substantial clean energy investment in the state. According to the Clean Economy Tracker, a dashboard that visualizes clean tech investments across the nation, North Carolina has received $20 billion in clean manufacturing investments since 2016. In total, this funding will support 35 facilities and an estimated 17,000 jobs, 77% of which will be in Republican districts. 

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A majority of these projects are related to battery manufacturing. For instance, since 2021 Toyota has announced nearly $14 billion in funding for the launch of its Liberty, North Carolina battery facility. The plant is expected to begin rolling out batteries for the auto manufacturer’s fleet of SUVs and hybrids in 2025 while creating over 5,000 jobs. 

North Carolina is also home to the deployment of cutting-edge advanced nuclear power. GE Hitachi, headquartered in Wilmington, is working with Bill Gates-backed TerraPower to deploy one of the nation’s first advanced reactors. Part of the Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, the collaboration will deploy TerraPower’s Natrium sodium-cooled fast reactor at the site of a coal plant in Wyoming. Fast reactors are especially promising because they can run on spent fuel and could help to address the country’s nuclear waste challenges. 

While there are many other policy reforms that would make North Carolina even more economically competitive, that state has many examples of how good economic policy can go hand-in-hand with good environmental policy. As the North Carolina Manufacturing and Energy Summit shows, the Tar Heel State is well positioned to lead the country in bringing the next generation of affordable, clean energy online.