New House bill could open nuclear waste storage opportunity in Texas

Dive Brief:

U.S. Rep. Michael Conaway (R-TX) is crafting a bill which would authorize the Department of Energy to move forward with interim storage projects for spent nuclear fuel, paid for with interest from the Nuclear Waste Fund.
E&E Daily, which obtained a draft of the bill, reported that Texas-based Waste Control Specialists have been working with Conaway on the bill and are vying for nuclear storage contracts.
The company earlier this year informed regulators that it intended to apply for an interim license to store used nuclear fuel at its facility in Andrews County, Texas.

Dive Insight:

Nuclear waste storage is making headlines again these days, and it appears more than one solution is on the table. A bipartisan group of lawmakers earlier this year renewed the push to open Yucca Mountain as a permanent storage repository, but in the meantime interim storage is being considered as a stop-gap measure.

DOE, which committed to taking the nuclear waste, could face hundreds of millions of dollars in lawsuits after 2020 for failing to deal with the spent fuel.

Conaway's measure authorize the Secrertary of Energy to “enter into contracts for the storage of high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel with any person that holds a license for an interim consolidated storage facility.”

Waste Control Specialists confirmed to E&E Daily they have been working with Conaway on the bill and “hope it will be introduced soon.”

WCS in February announced its intention to apply for interim storage licenses. In a statement, CEO William Lindquist said “we are confident we can provide a safe and comprehensive interim solution for used nuclear fuel, which has been accumulating at nuclear power plants across the country and for which no alternative for safe, secure storage and disposal currently exists. We are fully committed to this effort and plan to submit the final license application by April 2016.”

Lindquist said the company expects licensing, regulatory requirements and construction process to be completed by December 2020.

WCS is not the only contender for nuclear storage, however. AFCI Texas LLC has also indicated it wants to construct a facility in the state, and Holtec International has floated plans for a facility in New Mexico.

Finding an acceptable solution for nuclear waste storage is seen as crucial for the potential revival of the nuclear sector, which has only seen a handful of new plants constructed since the 1970s. The Obama administration is increasingly interested in small reactors to play a part in the decarbonization of the American energy system.