Green River nuclear energy plans revived, add to Utah's potential nuclear portfolio

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Fulcrum Point Holdings and Blue Castle Holdings are teaming to revive a nuclear power initiative in Green River.
The project envisions use of small modular reactors to generate nuclear power, similar to a proposal in Brigham City unveiled late last year.
The Green River plans date back nearly 20 years and initially called for development of a nuclear power plant.

GREEN RIVER, Emery County — The forces involved in a proposed nuclear energy development in the Brigham City area are now involved in a parallel nuclear initiative in Emery County that dates back nearly 20 years.

Fulcrum Point Holdings, founded by the head of Hi Tech Solutions — the main force behind the Brigham City plans — announced Wednesday that it will team with Blue Castle Holdings to advance its nuclear project in Green River. The Blue Castle nuclear power plant proposal prompted a legal fight some 10 years ago due to concerns over its proposed water use, but subsequently seemingly fell off the public radar even though a judge decided in Blue Castle's favor.

Now, they are getting new life in revamped format as part of the joint initiative between Blue Castle and Fulcrum Point. Officials didn't specify a timeline for development.

"Fulcrum Point is stepping into this project as a true development partner to help move the Blue Castle Project from years of groundwork into the next phase of execution," Chris Hayter, the Fulcrum Point founder and head of Hi Tech Solutions, said in a statement. "Blue Castle has done important work to position this site for success, and we now bring the technical, operational and project development capabilities needed to help advance it through licensing, deployment planning and eventual construction."

The plans initially called for a nuclear power plant capable of generating 3,000 megawatts of power in an industrial park near Green River. Now the proposal calls for use of small modular reactors, or SMRs, designed by Holtec International, same as the Brigham City proposal, which was unveiled last November. Holtec's SMR-300 units are typically deployed in pairs, capable of generating 640 megawatts of power between them, but Wednesday's statement didn't specify the proposed power-generation capacity in the Emery County facility.

Two firms are teaming to revive a nuclear power initiative in Green River, they announced Wednesday. The Aug. 10, 2016, photo shows Matt Pacenza, then-executive director of HEAL Utah, at a press conference in Salt Lake City related to concerns about an earlier incarnation of the plans. (Photo: Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)

The Brigham City plans also envision development of a manufacturing facility to make the SMR-300 units for export elsewhere. The Green River and Brigham City projects "represent Fulcrum Point's broader effort to help establish an advanced energy and nuclear infrastructure ecosystem in Utah," reads Wednesday's statement.

'Building an energy future'

The Green River plans generated an enthusiastic response from local and state leaders.

"We continue to support coal and the energy producers who have helped build this region, and we also want Emery County to lead out on new technologies that will keep us strong for the future," Emery County Commissioner Jordan Leonard said in a statement. "This agreement represents an opportunity to continue our role as an energy leader while bringing new jobs, investment, and long-term opportunity to our county."

Gov. Spencer Cox and other state leaders have expressed interest in expanding development of nuclear power in Utah to make sure the state has sufficient power capacity into the future. Cox's Operation Gigawatt initiative, a priority, is specifically meant to bolster energy production.

"Utah is building an energy future that is reliable, innovative, clean and secure through Operation Gigawatt," said Emy Lesofksi, energy adviser to Cox and director of the Utah Office of Energy Development. "Partnerships with innovators like Holtec International and Hi Tech Solutions are helping us achieve that future and seeing communities like Green River help secure Utah's legacy of energy abundance."

The SMR-300 system can operate with an air-cooling system, preventing the need to use large quantities of water for cooling. Holtec aims to place a fleet of SMR units around the world, most immediately in a project this year in Michigan

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