Department of Energy Announces Grant Awardees to Facilitate Talks of Hosting Spent Nuclear Fuel

BY C. JAYDEN SMITH

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Friday, June 9, announced the awardees that will serve as liaisons to prospective communities that could host spent nuclear fuel (SNF) on an interim basis—another step in the ongoing process to relocate nuclear waste from the nation’s power plants, including the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS).

Standing alongside Rep. Mike Levin and other officials for a press conference at SONGS, which is actively being decommissioned, Granholm said 13 institutions across the nation will cumulatively receive $26 million as part of the first of a three-stage process in identifying a host for an interim storage facility.

After DOE initially issued a $16 million funding opportunity announcement (FOA) in September 2022, the amount was increased in January 2023.

FOA recipients include several East Coast institutions such as Clemson University in South Carolina; the Energy Communities Alliance in Washington, D.C.; Holtec International in New Jersey; North Carolina State University; and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York.

Others from the West Coast and Southwest include the Good Energy Collective in California; Arizona State University; Boise State University in Idaho; the Keystone Policy Center in Colorado; and the Southwest Research Institute in Texas.

Additional recipients include Midwest entities including the American Nuclear Society in Illinois; Missouri University of Science and Technology; and Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.

“We selected them specifically because they bring a range of voices and viewpoints to the process, and in particular, viewpoints and perspectives from tribal nations and historically underserved communities,” said Granholm.

Over the next 18 to 24 months, DOE staff will meet with the organizations to understand the conversations between them and the communities they reach out to, with DOE providing assistance when necessary.

In turn, the institutions can offer grants to places willing to organize town halls and listening sessions.

Levin estimated that the first step, titled the Planning and Capacity Building Stage, will be completed by or before 2026. The Site-Screening and Assessment Stage comes next, during which interested communities can engage with DOE and have their sites assessed from 2025 to 2033.

Starting in 2029, Levin estimates DOE can choose a final site for a federal consolidated interim storage facility, and negotiations will begin.

Citing an estimated timeline, Levin said a facility could start operating as soon as 2033, allowing the nuclear waste at SONGS to be transported away and the Department of the Navy to retake the site by 2045.

During the June 9 press conference, Levin spoke about the work that has been put into making progress on the issue, including the formation of a Spent Nuclear Fuel Solutions caucus in Congress and countless other groups.

“I’ve been in Congress for five years, and for the first time, we finally have a plan when it comes to spent nuclear fuel across the United States,” he said.

He added that although $93 million has been secured to help push the process along, there will be a need to continually advocate for more funding.