The state of Utah has announced plans to build a large nuclear hub near Brigham City, which is expected to produce enough power to feed power to many Western states. The rural town in Northern Utah will be home to a training facility and manufacturing plant that will produce nuclear energy as part of a partnership with Hi Tech Solutions and Holtec International.
“The benefits of this project will ripple beyond, of course, just Brigham City,” Utah Governor Spencer Cox said, “… securing Utah’s role as a leader in nuclear powered generation for generations to come.”
The new project aims to create components that will allow many small modular nuclear reactors to function, which will then be shipped across the region. As of right now, no small modular nuclear reactors are operational in the United States but that is expected to change as the energy needs of AI data centers and crypto mining operations makes nuclear power a necessity. For instance, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman claims that his company will need an astounding 250 gigawatts within eight years..
Forbes reports that venture capitalists, Wall Street investors, the Department of Energy and other interests have put over $4 billion into nuclear ventures this year alone. This is up from $500 million in 2020. The infrastructure that is needed for nuclear power to become widespread is rapidly coming to fruition to meet demand.
“There is plenty of room for everyone to do well, because the world needs that much energy and more,’’ said Kam Ghaffarian, an Iranian aerospace tycoon whose firm is developing a nuclear reactor cooled by gas.
“If we invented nuclear fission today, we would view it as the silver bullet that solves climate change,” said Drew Wandzilak, a principal at Alumni Ventures. “That’s how powerful it is.”
Perhaps the answer to our energy problems and environmental problems has been staring us in the face this entire time. Nuclear power can provide plentiful energy without dumping tons of pollutants into the atmosphere. This technology needs to be fully embraced to fulfill mankind’s potential in the digital age.
