BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Louisiana officials are working to position the state as a leader in nuclear energy, with a three-part plan before the federal government that includes uranium enrichment research, power deployment to data centers, and offshore nuclear waste storage in the Gulf of America.
The state already operates two nuclear reactors as part of its energy grid. Secretary of Energy and Natural Resources Dustin Davidson said the expansion is driven by industrial and national security needs.
“We need products that have energy density in order to power our strong industrial corridors we have in the state, but then also you look at the applications for national security — we are a shipbuilding state as well,” Davidson said. “The Navy really focuses on nuclear-powered submarines and other kinds of vessels.”
Uranium enrichment and waste reuse
The plan would begin in Baton Rouge with testing and research focused on uranium enrichment. That energy would then be deployed at data centers and other high-demand locations.
“What we are really focused on is taking that fuel and refining it so it can be used again — that has been our big push here,” Davidson said.
Some nuclear waste from the process could be used in pharmaceutical medicines, Davidson said, but a portion would still require disposal.
Offshore storage raises questions
The state’s plan calls for injecting the waste into an underwater salt layer called a salt dome. According to the state’s application for the nuclear program, storing waste three miles offshore could allow companies to bypass state laws that restrict storing radioactive waste in salt domes.
Jackson Voss of the Alliance for Affordable Energy said the proposal raises safety concerns.
“I would be very concerned personally about having nuclear waste in the gulf,” Voss said. “We actually have seen failures in salt dome storage in petrochemical storage in the past. More recently, with the Bayou Corne sinkhole — it was a salt dome failure. There are a lot of questions I would have and considerable assurances I would need in regard to safety.”
Voss said broader impacts also need to be examined.
“I think that putting something like nuclear waste into the gulf — I think we need to better understand what are the risks, what are the costs and benefits to fishermen, oil and gas, other people moving through the gulf and into the Mississippi River,” Voss said.
State says offshore storage not the final answer
Davidson said the offshore storage component, while included in the application, is not the primary focus of the plan.
“Storing in salt domes offshore is not the final answer, so we are going to keep looking at opportunities, potentially to partner with other states,” Davidson said.
State officials said they will continue discussions with the U.S. Department of Energy over the next several months. Full implementation of the program is not expected for several years.
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