The Multiprogram Research Facility is seen at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, June 10, 2019, in Oak Ridge, Tenn. (C.B. Schmelter\/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP, File)<\/small><\/p>\n
2026-07-28T20:30:05Z<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Five states have agreed to accept nuclear waste from around the country<\/a><\/span> in exchange for federal help developing nuclear energy to create thousands of jobs.<\/p>\n The states \u2014 Tennessee, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Utah and Idaho \u2014 all have Republican governors who say they welcome the chance to help America reclaim its leadership in civilian nuclear energy.<\/p>\n If built, the storage sites would represent significant progress in a multi-decade effort to store more than 95,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste. Plans for a permanent underground storage facility at Nevada\u2019s Yucca Mountain have long been stalled because of staunch opposition<\/a><\/span> from most residents and officials. Spent fuel is currently stored at nuclear plants and former nuclear sites nationwide and is piling up.<\/p>\n Under the non-binding agreements, the states could host Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses that would include waste sites as well as uranium enrichment, spent-fuel reprocessing and fuel fabrication. The campuses may also host advanced reactor deployment, power generation and data centers, the Energy Department said.<\/p>\n The campuses have the potential to attract up to $50 billion in private investment and generate as much as $10 billion in state and local tax revenues, the Energy Department said in a statement. Eligible projects could access federal loans worth billions of dollars, the department said.<\/p>\n \u201cThese campuses will be massive generators of economic growth … and be crucial to unleashing America\u2019s nuclear renaissance,\u2019’ Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement. He called the proposed campuses an \u201cinnovative concept\u201d that will \u201cget America\u2019s nuclear industry growing again.\u2019’<\/p>\n Tennessee is home to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which enriched uranium during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project, while Idaho hosts the Idaho National Laboratory, a key research site for nuclear energy and national security. Utah was a source of raw uranium for the Manhattan Project and a training site for crews that dropped atomic bombs on Japan in 1945.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the global epicenter of nuclear energy, Tennessee is honored to be selected as a potential host for a Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus,\u201d said Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee. \u201cAs our state answered the call during the Manhattan Project and helped shape the course of history, Tennessee stands ready once again to advance the safe, reliable energy solutions our nation depends on.\u201d<\/p>\nNuclear campuses could boost state economies<\/h2>\n