Published January 09, 2025
By Christine Reed
The Center for Energy Regulation and Policy Analysis (CERPA) in the School of Energy Resources (SER) released a new white paper quantifying the economic outcomes of potential non-electricity uses of nuclear power in Wyoming.
Authored by Alex Gebben, an energy economist in the UW Center for Business and Economic Analysis, the paper is the fourth in a series of six white papers exploring and evaluating different aspects of developing an integrated nuclear industry in Wyoming.
“The unique attributes of nuclear power, including reliable heat output and high operational uptime, create technological benefits for nuclear reactors,” says Gebben. “This particular paper was focused on exploring ways in which heat produced from nuclear reactors could be beneficially applied for use in other industries, or used for other energy and development projects such as oil shale extraction or hydrogen production.”
By first identifying the unique opportunities and challenges of expanding the industry, an event study was then performed in the paper to estimate economic outcomes under a range of technological adoption scenarios.
The analysis concludes that there is potential to apply nuclear technology to non-electricity generation uses in Wyoming, and that by directly applying nuclear produced heat to industrial processes creates economic cost savings compared to using nuclear energy exclusively for electricity generation. Currently, neither oil shale extraction nor hydrogen production from nuclear energy are economically competitive industries in Wyoming, making industrial applications the area of highest potential.
Additionally, the paper surmises that future technological developments, modular reactor designs, and industry learning rates are expected to reduce construction costs, which could help nuclear to be competitive with natural gas in industrial heat applications.
“We know that when exploring the economics of a nuclear industry in Wyoming, there are a lot of “what if’s,” says Matt Fry, director of CERPA. “We are so impressed by Alex’s ability to succinctly describe potential scenarios and address some of that uncertainty with modeled economic forecasts. We hope that this will help lawmakers and stakeholders in the state to feel more empowered to make informed decisions moving forward, and feel confident in the possibilities for Wyoming.”
Previous papers in the series explore the feasibility of uranium enrichment, uranium recovery, and nuclear component manufacturing in Wyoming. The forthcoming papers to round out the series will evaluate other aspects of the nuclear supply chain including spent fuel storage and recycling, and nuclear produced electricity.
To download the paper, research brief, or other resources released by CERPA, visit the website www.uwyo.edu/cerpa.
