‘Tomorrow’s energy future’: Oklo and INL break ground on Aurora powerhouse reactor site

IDAHO FALLS — Congressional legislators, state leaders, and Idaho National Laboratory officials gathered outside of Idaho Falls Monday to break ground on a new nuclear power site, marking the start of a new nuclear renaissance in the Gem State.

The new plant, dubbed the Aurora plant, will be built by Oklo, a private company building a nuclear facility, partnered with the Idaho National Laboratory.

The plant will be part of the Reactor Pilot program, which was created under the Trump Administration in May through an executive order. The order was to fast-track the development of advanced nuclear deployment and to modernize the process.

Mike Goff, principal deputy assistant secretary for the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, told EastIdahoNews.com the pilot program will allow private companies to work with the DOE to help them go through the process of licensing or fuel to allow them to accelerate their deployment.

“We’re just trying to open up all of the resources that we have to be able to accelerate that, and one of those resources is Idaho National Lab,” Goff said.

Goff worked previously with INL in 1991, coming back over 30 years later, and said it’s enlightening to see the change in emotion towards nuclear energy.

Presidents over the years have either been in favor of or against it, he said, noting that President Bill Clinton administration closed parts of the INL.

“President Trump said he wanted to reinvent (and) reinvigorate the nuclear industry in the United States… President (Joe) Biden continued a lot of those policies, and President (Donald) Trump is really basically accelerating that even more with those executive orders,” Goff said.

According to a news release from Oklo, the company was one of three projects chosen under the executive order.

The project will bring 370 jobs to build the new plant, and once completed, will result in 70 to 80 permanent jobs.

Gov. Brad Little spoke prior to the groundbreaking, saying this moment marks a new chapter in Idaho’s history.

“Today we plant the seeds of what is tomorrow’s energy future,” Little said. “We witness the next generation of nuclear innovation that will power our communities, that will secure our nation’s energies, and will advance American leadership for generations to come.”

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin said Idaho is an example for the rest of America, leading the way in creating new nuclear power.

“We need more baseline power in this country, and we need more certainty for those who want to invest in this country,” Zeldin said.

Zeldin lauded the Trump administration for deregulating the federal government to allow projects and companies like Okla to proceed in its groundbreaking today.

Jake DeWitte, co-founder and CEO of Oklo, pointed to INL’s Experimental Breeder Reactor II, saying, “For this project, Oklo will pick up where EBR-II left off and continue that innovation.”

“We get to pick up and stand on the shoulders of those giants who did all of that work to actually realize that vision, that technology potential. We start here,” DeWitte said.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who was in attendance for the Western Governors Association, said over the years, America has made many decisions that made it impossible to build nuclear reactors, but that changes today.

These changes are also in conjunction with national security, as Cox said that China, Russia, and other countries are engaged in an arms and artificial intelligence race.

U.S. Senator Jim Risch continued Cox’s sentiment that if America doesn’t meet the challenge, those countries will.

“It (nuclear) helped power our rise to global prominence and will be essential in our mission to leave future generations a safer, cleaner, more secure and more prosperous world,” Risch said.

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