Published February 20, 2025
By Christine Reed
The Center for Energy Regulation and Policy Analysis (CERPA) at the University of Wyoming’s School of Energy Resources has released a highly anticipated white paper exploring spent nuclear fuel management as part of a set of six articles delving into the economic feasibility of developing an integrated nuclear sector in Wyoming.
The fifth installment of the series provides an analysis to estimate the various benefits and costs associated with developing a consolidated interim storage facility in the state, and quantifies the economic opportunities and outcomes of forming a spent nuclear fuel management industry in Wyoming.
The paper was written by Alex Gebben and Daniel Cooley, energy economists in the UW Center for Business and Economic Analysis.
“This is an important issue at both the state and local levels,” Gebben says. “Beyond the economic possibilities and practical need for addressing spent fuel with the deployment of a nuclear power plant in the state, the opinions of Wyomingites should be understood. We hope that this paper can help shed some light on the possibilities of housing or utilizing spent fuel in Wyoming as these important topics are being discussed.”
In addition to acknowledging the legal requirements for spent nuclear fuel, the paper also identifies some key benefits and costs to both intermediate storage and recycling, which includes Wyoming’s tax structure, location advantages and technology infrastructure. The level of support for spent nuclear fuel storage was gauged among Wyoming citizens, finding a range of viewpoints on the issue.
The analysis concludes that spent nuclear fuel storage would be feasible in Wyoming, if federal and state legal requirements are changed. Such a facility could potentially provide economic benefits to the state, including tax revenue and employment increases. Meanwhile, a spent fuel recycling industry remains limited by technological and economic constraints preventing immediate Wyoming development.
“This paper is extremely timely,” says CERPA Director Matt Fry. “Our legislature has been considering multiple bills that intend to address this very topic. While one did not progress through the legislative process, one still remains on the table, so we hope that both the public and our lawmakers can use this as a great way to inform some of those discussions moving forward.”
Previous papers in the series explore the feasibility of uranium enrichment, uranium recovery, nuclear component manufacturing in Wyoming and heat applications. The final forthcoming paper will evaluate nuclear-produced electricity.
To download the paper, corresponding research brief or other papers in the series, visit the website here.
