US military airlifts small reactor as Trump pushes to quickly deploy nuclear power

HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah (AP) — The Pentagon and the Department of Energy have flown a small nuclear reactor from California to Utah for the first time; This demonstrated what they said was the potential for the United States to rapidly deploy nuclear energy for military and civilian use.

This past weekend’s nearly 700-mile flight, which carried a 5-megawatt microreactor without nuclear fuel, highlights the Trump administration’s push to promote nuclear power to help meet nuclear power needs. Increasing power demand from artificial intelligence and data centers, It is also used by the military.

Minister of Energy Chris Wright Undersecretary of Defense Michael Duffey, who traveled with the specially built reactor, hailed the Feb. 15 tour by C-17 military aircraft as a breakthrough in U.S. efforts to accelerate commercial licensing for microreactors as part of a broader Trump administration effort to reshape the nation’s energy landscape.

New emphasis on nuclear energy

President Donald Trump supports nuclear energy, a carbon-free source of electricity, as a reliable source of energy, though he still has widespread support enemy of renewable energy And Coal and other fossil fuels are given priority in electricity generation.

Skeptics warn that nuclear power carries risks and say microreactors may not be safe or feasible and have not proven they can meet demand at a reasonable price.

Wright brushed aside those concerns as he said there was progress on Trump’s decision Press for rapid expansion of nuclear power. Trump last year stripped the authority of the independent watchdog that has regulated the U.S. nuclear industry for five decades by signing a series of executive orders that allowed Wright to approve some advanced reactor designs and projects.

“Today is history. A multi-megawatt, next-generation nuclear power plant has been loaded onto the C-17 behind us,” Wright said before the two-hour flight from March Air Reserve Base in California to Hill Air Force base in Utah.

The minivan-sized reactor transported by the military is one of at least three that will reach criticality — the criticality at which a nuclear reaction can sustain an ongoing series of reactions — by July 4, as Trump has promised, Wright said.

“This is speed, this is innovation, this is the beginning of a nuclear renaissance,” he said.

Microreactors will be for civilian and military use

Currently, there is 94 operable nuclear reactors Approximately 19% of the nation’s electricity is produced in the United States, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. This figure is down from 104 reactors in 2013 and includes: Two new commercial reactors in Georgia these were the country’s first major reactors built from scratch in a generation.

Recognizing delays in deploying new, full-scale reactors, industry and government have focused on more efficient designs in recent years. small modular reactor It was proposed by the Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation’s largest public energy company.

Microreactors designed to be portable could take this one step further and “accelerate the delivery of flexible power to where it’s needed,” Duffey said. Eventually, mobile reactors could provide energy security on a military base without a civilian grid, he and other officials said.

Duffey said the demonstration flight “moves us closer to deploying nuclear power when and where it’s needed to give our nation’s warfighters the tools to win in war.”

Isaiah Taylor, CEO of Valar Atomics, a California-based startup that produced the reactor, said that the reactor transferred to Utah can produce 5 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 5,000 homes. The company hopes to start selling electricity on a test basis next year and become fully commercial in 2028.

Some security concerns remain unaddressed, experts say

Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear energy safety for the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the transport flight, which included scores of reporters, photographers and TV news crews, was little more than “a dog-and-pony show” demonstrating the Pentagon’s ability to transport a piece of heavy equipment.

Lyman said in an interview that the flight “does not answer any questions for the military and the public about whether the project is feasible, economical, feasible or safe.”

Lyman said the Trump administration “has not laid out the safety case” for how microreactors loaded with nuclear fuel can be safely transported to data centers or military bases.

Officials also haven’t decided how the nuclear waste will be disposed of, but Wright said the Energy Department is in talks with Utah and other states to host facilities that could reprocess the fuel or handle permanent disposal.

Wright said that the micro reactor sent to Utah will be sent to Utah San Rafael Energy Laboratory for testing and evaluation. Fuel will be provided by the Nevada Homeland Security site, Taylor said.

“The response to energy is always greater,” Wright said. After four years of restrictions on more polluting forms of energy under the Biden administration, he said: “We’re trying to deregulate everything now. And nuclear will be flying soon, too.”