The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has selected five potential host states for what it calls “Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses” in an effort to strengthen and modernize the nation’s full nuclear fuel cycle.

The agreements with Tennessee, Utah, Louisiana, Idaho and Oklahoma mark significant progress in a decades-long effort to find a home for almost 100,000 metric tons of spent nuclear power-plant fuel, a challenge that has long shaped U.S. nuclear policy and left storage and disposition questions unresolved.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright signed memorandums of understanding with the five states, according to a statement issued Tuesday. Under the terms of the non-binding accords, the states would host Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses that include waste sites as well as uranium enrichment, spent-fuel reprocessing and fuel fabrication. The sites may also host advanced reactor deployment, power generation and data centres, the DOE said.

The DOE said the campuses are intended to attract major investment, expand domestic manufacturing and create thousands of new high-paying jobs in their respective regions. According to the statement, the facilities could attract up to $50 billion in capital investment, generate as much as $10 billion in state and local tax revenue and create nearly 25,000 jobs.

The proposed facilities are designed to support activities across the full nuclear fuel lifecycle, including fuel fabrication, enrichment, reprocessing used nuclear fuel and final disposition of used nuclear fuel.

Depending on state priorities and regional capabilities, the campuses may also host advanced reactor deployment, power generation, advanced manufacturing and co-located data centres.

Nuclear ambitions

“After reviewing 28 applications from 26 states, the Energy Department has selected five initial contenders to further explore building Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses,” Wright said in the statement.

“These campuses will be massive generators of economic growth, create thousands of high-paying jobs and be crucial to unleashing America’s nuclear renaissance.”

The selection comes as federal officials look to expand the nuclear sector while dealing with the legacy of existing waste. President Donald Trump’s nuclear ambitions include quadrupling U.S. nuclear power and building 10 nuclear reactors.

In 1987, Congress designated a ridge in the Nevada desert — about 90 miles north of Las Vegas — called Yucca Mountain as the nation’s nuclear waste repository. However, decades of political opposition stalled the project.

States that choose to pursue hosting an innovation campus will sign hosting agreements with the department at a later date, the DOE said.

(With files from Bloomberg)