Innovation to Achieve Energy Targets: Advanced Nuclear and Beyond for Idaho, America, and the World

Overview

The demand for abundant and sustainable energy has never been higher. Driven by economic and population growth, the reshoring of industrial capacity, the transitioning of transportation-related energy burdens onto the grid, and the expansion of data centers, the United States is seeing a surge in electricity demand. This is exacerbated in the Mountain West where there is both large-scale population and economic growth. On this panel, leaders in Idaho’s energy industry discuss the region’s needs, how they might be met, the role of nuclear, and what opportunities Idaho has to lead in energy production.

Key Session Insights

It is a critical time in Idaho’s power sector, rife with both challenges and opportunities. With the state’s economy growing and expanding at a breakneck pace, the need for electricity has never been higher and shows no signs of slowing its climb. President & CEO of IDACORP & Idaho Power Ms. Lisa Grow, leading the state’s flagship electrical utility, sees the present moment as a once-in-a-generation moment to expand and clean up the Idaho grid. But she cautioned that clean energy was not the only factor being considered; the ethos of Idaho Power is, as she put it, energy that was “safe, reliable, affordable, and clean, in that order.” While sustainability was an important goal, she stressed it couldn’t be realized without first considering impacts on consumers.

The utility is interested in producing clean power, however; with more than fifty percent of production coming from hydroelectric dams, Idaho Power is already very clean by national standards. But wind, solar, and battery cannot, in Grow’s view, meet the needs of the state, especially in wintertime. In a particularly ironic example, she noted how, thanks to the wildfire smoke hanging over the state, solar power production had fallen by a third. While a cleaner system would be desirable, it cannot come at the expense of reliability, capacity, and affordability. Rather, a diversified mix of both clean and traditional power sources is the path forward.

The call for diversification was echoed by Professor of Sustainable Energy Systems, Innovation & Policy and Director of the CAES Energy Policy Institute at Boise State University Dr. Kathleen Araújo. She noted that Idaho has some of the country’s cheapest electricity, an economic pull factor that has drawn in many large commercial operators. But overreliance on a single source could ultimately prove detrimental; Idaho has historically been heavily reliant on its hydropower sector, but drought and heat have diminished reservoir levels, and thus, generation capacity. With water being an increasingly scarce commodity, overreliance on hydropower risks making electricity production more expensive and politically fraught as multiple interest groups look to secure their own water supplies. A greater diversity of supply will be critical to keep electricity affordable and reliable.

The Idaho energy mix is already changing in response to new demand and new priorities. However, Grow made it clear that change wouldn’t happen overnight. A major buildout of new infrastructure in short order would be difficult; she described permitting as a “complete and utter disaster,” hindering any short development. While she described Idaho Power as looking forward twenty years towards a cleaner energy future, Grow also highlighted the need for the utility to survive today. To that end, natural gas, while still a fossil fuel, is going to be a part of the energy mix for the foreseeable future. While half as dirty as coal, it is still a fossil fuel, and ideally something to move away from. But she highlighted that the ability for utilities to do R&D on how best to move away from fossil fuels was limited; Idaho Power, and other utilities like it, are relying on universities and national labs to help them come up with tomorrow’s solutions.

Idaho is the original home of nuclear research. It may soon be a home to commercial nuclear power. The nuclear power plant was invented in Idaho, at Idaho National Laboratory, but the state itself has never hosted a commercial nuclear power plant. Director of Integrated Energy & Storage Systems at Idaho National Laboratory Dr. Shannon Bragg-Sitton proposed that the state may be approaching the point where nuclear power becomes a necessary part of the local energy mix, driven by both a need for more power and a desire for a cleaner energy system. While she reiterated the earlier point that fossil fuels are not going away, that does not mean that nuclear has no role; Idaho has the potential to host multiple energy technologies. As just one example, advanced nuclear technologies like modular reactors could be deployed to fit the needs of individual facilities with unique power requirements, rather than being deployed only to meet general grid demand. Indeed, parts of the nuclear fleet are already coming under pressure from renewables who threaten their share of baseload power. To cope with the changing nature of demand, Bragg-Sitton described a pilot project where three nuclear power plants are using excess capacity to generate hydrogen, ensuring full usage of their energy-generating potential.

According to Bragg-Sitton, five years ago, the idea of building more large-scale nuclear power plants was mostly off the table thanks to the two Vogtle reactors in Georgia. The most recently completed in the United States, they were billions of dollars over budget and several years behind schedule, leaving the industry jaded on the prospect of more nuclear mega-projects. However, in just the few years since, the AI-driven explosion in data centers has shattered projections for power requirements, bringing nuclear power back into the discussion. Furthermore, advances in nuclear technology have expanded the scope of nuclear applications. Modular reactors can increase flexibility of deployment, brining down costs. Microreactors can serve remote locations, military facilities, or emergency response roles. If larger systems offer economies of scale, smaller ones may soon be able to offer similar economies of quantity.

However, any buildout of nuclear will require a rethink of the permitting process as it exists today. As Executive Director for Business Development & Strategic Partnerships at the Purdue Applied Research Institute Mr. Rinaldo Hunt points out, any new deployment of more nimble nuclear technologies will be predicated on updating the regulatory environment. Right now, outdated regulations are a large part of the huge costs of new nuclear plants, making it difficult to garner investment. While the spiking power demand nationwide may trigger subsidies for nuclear power, this is not in his view a long-term solution. Only by modernizing nuclear construction codes can costs be brought under control, making nuclear plants a worthwhile investment. By doing this, the financial instruments necessary to support a nuclear industry buildout, like financing tools and a robust manufacturing ecosystem, can build out.

If Idaho does pursue nuclear power, it is in an enviable position to do so. Araújo pointed out that the Idaho valley region has the highest per capita concentration of nuclear engineers in world due to Idaho National Laboratory, which Vice President of Engineering at the Lightbridge Corporation Dr. Scott Holcombe described as a “one stop shop” for getting a reactor designed, built, tested, and deployed.

As the panel concluded, noted the final hurdles nuclear power would face would be local. For nuclear power, especially small modular reactors, to make their way out of laboratories and into communities, there needs to be both a willingness to accept them and a workforce ready to operate them. Araújo pointed to how, where her institute had asked remote communities what their concerns over nuclear power were, waste storage was top of mind. While enthusiasm for the opportunities such reactors could bring did exist, they were tempered by a healthy skepticism that needs to be addressed before any buildout begins.

In addition to concerns over safety and waste, talent needs to be developed in local communities for SMRs to be implemented in them, but that talent pipeline is not as wide as it needs to be. Many people have no idea that working in nuclear power is a job opportunity, let alone a potentially lucrative one. Bragg-Sitton suggested that a concerted push to make nuclear work a “sexy” career path would help pave the way towards a nationwide rollout by laying the knowledge foundation required.

While Idaho has challenges to overcome in its search for abundant and reliable energy, it also has many opportunities. The state not only can fulfill its growing energy needs, but also help the rest of the country fulfill theirs as well.