Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said Thursday spent nuclear fuel policy meetings are happening inside the Department of Energy but it is too early to spell out what the administration of President Joe Biden will pursue with Nevada’s stalled Yucca Mountain project off the table.
Granholm’s remarks came in response to a reporter’s question at a White House press conference, carried online, which primarily centered on DOE’s role in advancing low-carbon energy such as solar. The energy secretary was asked where the administration planned to store the nation’s spent radioactive fuel.
“Some of you may recall there was a bipartisan commission on what to do about spent nuclear fuel,” Granholm said in reference to the Blue- Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future. The panel appointed by the Obama administration issued its report to DOE in January 2012 that embraced consent-based siting for nuclear waste sites.
“We have to find a solution but it has to be based on community agreement,” Granholm said.
“We will be making an announcement on that,” Granholm said, adding, she was “not ready to say” when that will happen.
President Barack Obama’s administration moved away from the Yucca Mountain repository, which is opposed by the Nevada congressional delegation, and stopped funding for the facility’s license review before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
During its early days, the Donald Trump administration talked of reviving plans for the controversial Nevada facility, but it never garnered sufficient support in Congress. The dwindling pro-Yucca faction within the House of Representatives took another hit in 2019 when one of its champions, Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) decided not to seek re-election.
On another nuclear-related issue, Granholm was asked if DOE would still support new nuclear weaponry and modernization of the weapons stockpile managed by the semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration.
“We have to modernize the nation’s nuclear arsenal,” Granholm said. “We have to keep and maintain the stockpile to ensure it is safe and effective and we will continue to do that to ensure that we can deter nuclear aggression from other countries. So, our nuclear deterrent is important and it is embedded in the values of that stockpile and we will make sure that our people are safe.”
