Five states agree to explore nuclear waste energy campuses

Five states have agreed to explore hosting major nuclear energy and waste management complexes, marking a potential breakthrough in the United States' long-stalled effort to manage its growing stockpile of radioactive material. The U.S. Department of Energy announced on July 28 that Tennessee, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Utah, and Idaho have signed nonbinding agreements to potentially host "Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses."

The initiative aims to consolidate activities across the nuclear fuel cycle, including the storage of spent nuclear fuel, uranium enrichment, fuel fabrication, and spent-fuel reprocessing. The proposed campuses could also host advanced reactor deployment, power generation facilities, and data centers. The agreements represent a significant shift in strategy, seeking willing state partners after decades of political impasse over a permanent national repository at Nevada's Yucca Mountain.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the campuses are designed to spur an American nuclear renaissance, describing them as massive generators of economic growth crucial to unleashing the nation's nuclear industry. The Department of Energy estimates a single campus could attract...