US changing its nuclear playbook? States offered deals to host radioactive waste: Report

The United States administration is preparing to sound out individual states as early as this week on whether they would be willing to host nuclear waste storage facilities in exchange for incentives to build new nuclear reactors, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a source familiar with the discussions.

The move, if pursued, would mark a significant shift in Washington’s approach to a decades-old problem that has long constrained the growth of nuclear power in the country.

However, a spokesperson for the Energy Department said the story was “false” and that “no decisions have been made at this time.”

Why Washington wants more nuclear power

The developments come as the Trump administration pushes an ambitious expansion of nuclear power, aiming to quadruple US nuclear capacity to 400 gigawatts by 2050.

The target is driven by a sharp rise in electricity demand after decades of stagnation, fuelled by power-hungry data centres supporting artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency operations.

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Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, Trump said nuclear power could be developed at “good prices” and operated safely, a notable shift in tone for a president who has previously voiced scepticism about the technology.

The waste problem holding back reactors

The proposal is an attempt to overcome local resistance to nuclear waste storage, which has repeatedly stalled new reactor projects. Currently, spent nuclear fuel is stored at reactor sites themselves, first in cooling pools and later in reinforced concrete and steel casks, a temporary solution that utilities and regulators alike see as unsustainable.

Under the plan, states willing to host deep underground waste repositories would receive incentives to develop nuclear power plants, as well as support for related activities such as uranium enrichment and nuclear waste reprocessing, the report said, adding that the proposal would be non-binding, and states would not be required to accept every component of the deal.

Such an approach would represent a departure from the long-standing plan to house all US nuclear waste at a single permanent repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Designated by Congress in 1987, the Yucca project was effectively halted under former President Barack Obama due to fierce opposition from Nevada lawmakers, despite the federal government spending at least $15 billion on the effort.

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In the years since, the Energy Department has shifted to a “consent-based” siting model for nuclear waste, seeking voluntary hosts rather than imposing a single location. Even so, the United States still has no permanent storage facility for high-level nuclear waste.