The Silver State’s nuclear future is unclear. With a favorable federal administration and the race towards America’s energy independence, states are investing in nuclear-friendly legislation to attract business, but Nevada is not keeping up.
Perhaps the most concerning question that stands in the way of any nuclear investment in the Silver State is: How can the driest state afford a thirsty nuclear reactor? Let’s understand.
How Nuclear Power Plants Actually Use Water
A nuclear power plant is a form of thermoelectric generation. These designs use a heat source to turn water into steam and channel the steam to turn an electric turbine that produces power.
Most baseload electric power plants are thermoelectric stations and just vary based on the type of heat source they use. This could be nuclear, coal, natural gas, biomass, or even geothermal energy. All these power plants draw water, but depending on the cooling mechanism they use, may return some or most of that water to the water source.
How Nuclear Power Plants Actually Use Water
According to a 2021 study on power plant resource use prepared for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, most thermoelectric power plants use similar amounts of water. On average, a conventional nuclear power plant consumes about 2.4 liters of water per kilowatt-hour (kWh) produced.
By contrast, a coal-fired power plant consumes about 2.9 liters per kWh produced, which rises to 5.1 liters per kWh if carbon sequestration is included. Natural gas uses a little less at 1.17 and 2.0 liters per kWh with and without carbon sequestration, respectively.
Even so-called “renewable” power sources can require a significant amount of water for fabrication and maintenance of components: roof-mounted solar photovoltaic panels consume 24.9 liters per kWh according to the same study. That’s 10 times more consumptive than a conventional nuclear power plant.
Nevada’s Growing Energy Demand
Currently, 80% of the electricity generated in Nevada comes from coal and natural gas. Moreover, Nevada consumes 11 times more electricity than it currently produces, and so utility companies must buy power from out-of-state producers to fulfil the demand.
As the state continues to grow, it will eventually need to expand generating capacity, and it’s hard to argue even a traditional nuclear power plant is more water consumptive than Nevada’s current mix.
Agriculture Uses Far More Water Than Power Plants
Despite a predominant reliance on thermoelectric generation nationwide, this accounts for a relatively small share of consumptive water use overall. According to statistics compiled by the University of Michigan, thermoelectric plants drew 133 billion gallons of water per day, 97% of that amount is cooled and returned to the source.
Almost 90% of consumptive water use goes to agriculture, with the remainder accounting for all household, commercial, industrial, and power-generated uses. (Nevada is among the top 20 states for agriculture-based consumptive water use, according to USDA data.)
Again, nuclear power plants account for only a minority of all thermoelectric generation, so total water use attributable to conventional nuclear power plants represents a tiny share of the total.
Small Modular Reactors Could Reduce Water Use Further
Further, conventional nuclear plants are quickly becoming outdated as newer, modular designs that use even less water have come online. For instance, a modular reactor being installed in Idaho uses fans to cool water to reduce loss.
Other modern nuclear designs don’t even use water at all to move heat because they use molten salt or molten metals. Other reactors just use wastewater. For instance, the largest operational reactor in the United States, which is in the Arizona desert, only uses reclaimed wastewater from local cities.
These Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are significantly scaled down versions of conventional nuclear plants that are easier to construct, operate, and transport, ultimately generating less energy at lower cost. Currently, the world has only two commercially operational SMRs – one in China and one in Russia – with more than 70 projects in development.
Arizona, Utah, and Texas Are Moving Ahead on Nuclear
As the reactors in Arizona and Idaho illustrate, there is a regional momentum for SMRs in the Mountain West. Utah and Texas are also investing in a nuclear future.
Arizona lawmakers have aggressively courted SMRs to attract more data centers and to power other emergent technologies of the future. Its legislature recently passed bills allowing a fast-track for SMR licensure to attract more investment into the rural regions of the state.
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed the bill, but the intent and the direction is clear as even major utilities like Arizona Public Service, the Salt River Project, and Tucson Electric Power have announced that they are working together to assess possible sites, including retiring coal plants, to add new nuclear capacity in the state.
Utah’s Push for SMRs and Nuclear Waste Storage
Utah, on the other hand, has moved fast on both SMRs and nuclear waste. In February, Utah officials celebrated the first-ever airlift of an SMR – a Valar Atomics microreactor – to Emery County, where it should begin power generation by the end of the year.
Separately, Utah lawmakers have eyed their large underground salt domes for a “nuclear lifecycle campus” hosting spent fuel storage, recycling and even fuel fabrication. In short, Utah lawmakers are seizing nuclear waste storage or reprocessing – next to the Nevada border – as a market that could attract investment and the development of a high-tech nuclear engineering industry.
Nevada Risks Falling Behind in the Nuclear Industry
So, what is the key takeaway from the undeniable state and federal revival of nuclear power? Nevada can participate or be left behind.
Instead of uninformed, fear-based moratoriums and bans, Nevada lawmakers should focus on friendly legislation to ease the attraction of SMRs that could benefit Nevada residents and businesses in the upcoming session. Designs with minimal water usage can even retire existing energy plants that use comparatively more water in the long run.
Yucca Mountain Could Become Nevada’s Bargaining Chip
Alternatively, to capitalize on the investments being made by regional neighbors, Nevada could use Yucca Mountain as a bargaining chip at the larger, federal scale. Nevada could condition its acceptance of a Yucca Mountain project on an increased water allotment from the Colorado River basin.
To the extent Nevada is water-deprived, it’s largely because use of Colorado River water is divided between seven states according to an interstate compact approved in 1922. It apportions 15 million acre-feet per year across these seven states and Nevada receives, by far, the lowest share, at just 300,000 acre-feet.
California, by contrast, is entitled to 4.4 million acre-feet, much of which is used to grow low-value feed crops like alfalfa. According to a report from the Congressional Research Service, 70% of Colorado River water is used to irrigate crops, especially in the Imperial Valley of California, where alfalfa is the primary product.
Nuclear Waste Reprocessing Could Create High-Paying Jobs
In exchange, Nevada could also position itself as a global destination for one of the world’s most scientifically advanced and high-paying industries—nuclear engineering. The Nuclear Regulatory Agency has conducted an extensive safety evaluation of the Yucca Mountain site and concluded it could safely house spent fuel rods for thousands of years.
But storage is only one of several options for spent fuel rods. Fuel rods can also be reprocessed, allowing the unspent fuel to go back into use, as happens in France — the current global leader in civilian nuclear technology.
Nevada’s Opportunity in the Nuclear Energy Renaissance
Ultimately, Nevada’s path forward lies in engaging with the nuclear renaissance and not turning a blind eye to it. With smart policies favoring SMRs or taking advantage of nuclear storage or reprocessing options, the Silver State can stay in competition with its counterparts while positioning itself as the focal point of the future energy industry.
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