Utah proposes developing uranium processing facility on military grounds

Photo: Drew DeWalt

With the promise of a ‘nuclear energy renaissance’ in the state, a new company may start enriching uranium at Camp Williams

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – As Utah Gov. Spencer Cox makes a high bet on nuclear energy, advancing processes to make Utah a nuclear hub, the state announced it is studying to lease military land for an uranium enrichment facility.

Newcomer company Utah Energy is planning to sublease a piece of Camp Williams, located at the south end of Bluffdale, to refine uranium into concentrations to make it a suitable fuel for nuclear reactors.

That uranium will then be transported by semitrucks to nuclear facilities as needed, Drew DeWalt, a representative from Utah Energy — and also behind other similar projects in other states, including Washington, said at the Thursday announcement hosted by the company, the Utah Department of Natural Resources, the Utah Office of Energy Development, and the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA.)

With a push from the White House to accelerate nuclear energy developments, DeWalt said that this processing is going to happen somewhere in the U.S., and odds are it will happen in Utah for its location and its government’s willingness to embrace the resource. But, mostly, what he wanted to convey during the announcement was that the facility should be “safe, necessary and important” for neighboring communities.

“This is really a closed-loop system. The major risks are not to the public, but to our employees,” DeWalt said, adding that staff would face standard industrial risks in the project, especially since it would be a process the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would carefully oversee.

This isn’t a done deal. It’s the start of an engagement process that could take years, DeWalt said. The lease proposal will be subject to the review of the Military Installation Development Authority Board and other legislative panels within the next two weeks.

Ariana Farber, deputy director for MIDA, said this project is designed similarly to the Falcon Hill Project Area at Hill Air Force Base, which leased federal property for an aerospace research park.

“The National Guard project area was created to facilitate infrastructure that supports military operations. The project directly contributes to that mission,” Farber said about the uranium processing facility, “and it’s in alignment with our state of Utah energy initiatives from the governor’s office, and also in alignment with our national security posture.”

In combination with other developments, this project will help fund large-scale capital projects for the Utah National Guard, Farber said, including a new aviation facility contemplated in rural southern Utah, an enhanced wildfire response and emergency deployment capabilities.

Utah officials who have championed nuclear energy developments, including Cox in a recent op-ed published in the Deseret News, criticized the fact that about 25% of the enriched uranium used in U.S. nuclear reactors comes from Russia. About 70% of all enriched uranium used in the country in 2023 came from other countries, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

According to DeWalt, the Camp Williams project may solve inefficiencies in the current fuel supply chain, which often requires the transportation of uranium to Europe for processing, since there aren’t enough facilities in the country.

Now, with a “nuclear renaissance” in sight propelled by President Donald Trump, Utah has been moving fast to implement the technology on its soil — the Legislature already approved a big bill to set up the foundation for nuclear energy and state officials signed a couple of memorandums of understanding with nuclear technology developers.

That momentum is something DeWalt is hoping to tap into.

“​​How much faster could you do this and still be safe? I think there’s got to be a happy medium where there’s a lot of unnecessary bureaucratic delay,” he said. “Can we strip that out, and can we still be safe?”