BISMARCK, N.D. (KUMV) – North Dakota lawmakers are continuing to look into how a nuclear power facility would operate in North Dakota.
The state’s Advanced Nuclear Energy Committee met on Tuesday to hear from officials across the nation who are dealing with nuclear power.
This week, company Nucleon Energy released two reports detailing the possibilities of nuclear sites. One document estimates a 200-megawatt reactor could bring up to 100 full-time post-construction jobs and generate up to $1.7 million in yearly taxes. A 600-megawatt reactor could create up to 260 full-time jobs and up to $5 million in yearly taxes.
“A large portion of some of the existing staff at nuclear facilities is security, and that’s a question of how much that would scale down. From a planning standpoint, we think these are reasonable numbers,” said William Bridge, chief technology officer at Nucleon.
Nucleon’s second report covered nuclear waste, explaining how it’s disposed of according to federal regulations.
Examining the long-term waste plan is as critical as any other aspect of the economics, or the constructability, or any of those other things. Some of them are quite challenging and still need a lot of development to think through,” said Bridge.
Don’t expect to see a reactor in North Dakota anytime soon. Nucleon’s reports state that it would cost more than a billion dollars to construct, and it is still considered very expensive in the energy industry.
“Right now, natural gas is more economic than that. At some point, those two may cross over, but the nuclear industry still needs to bring the costs down,” said Bridge.
Nucleon will release additional reports later this year, focusing on the feasibility of small modular reactors in North Dakota and which parts of state law may need to be adjusted to allow developers to start the process of building.
In December, Nucleon put out a report citing seven areas that could support small modular reactors.
Bridge said community support is the biggest factor when considering a nuclear power plant.
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