Governor signs bill intended to encourage nuclear microreactors in Alaska

Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Tuesday signed a bill aimed at easing the construction of small nuclear reactors, using a signing ceremony on the first day of the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference to highlight what he characterized as a promising technology to power remote parts of the state.

Microreactors are compact nuclear reactors that can generate up to 20 megawatts of power, though most are scaled to be smaller than that.

“Micronuclear technology has a potential role to play in providing low-cost, reliable power for communities, remote villages and resource development projects. This bill will update state law to allow us to pursue the possibilities,” the Republican governor said at the signing ceremony, held in the upstairs lobby of Anchorage’s Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center.

The legislation, Senate Bill 177, establishes in state law a precise definition of nuclear microreactors, which are compact reactors – small enough to be transported by truck – capable of producing up to 20 megawatts, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

The just-signed bill removes some of the state regulatory hurdles that were previously required for the approval of nuclear energy. It eliminates the requirement of studies by multiple agencies, such as the Department of Health and Social Services, Department of Labor and Department of Fish and Game.

And it removes the requirement for legislative approval of specific microreactor sites, though the lawmakers would continue to make those siting decisions for any microreactor that would be located outside of any organized borough.

There is only one project currently in development, and it is not subject to provisions in the just-signed bill, according to Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation officials. The U.S. Air Force last year selected Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks to be the site of its first microreactor project. The Eielson reactor, to produce up to 5 megawatts, is intended to provide an alternative to the base’s existing and aged coal-fired power and heat plant. The pilot project is intended to come on line in 2027 and to provide information about whether such microreactors are practical for use at other military sites.

The Copper Valley Electric Association, which serves about 8,000 people in eastern Alaska, has launched a study to examine whether a microreactor is feasible for its operations.

The streamlined approach to approval drew some opposition, however.

Pamela Miller, executive director of Alaska Community Action on Toxics, said her group testified against the bill. She is disappointed that it “sailed through” the Legislature, she said.

“It’s really a false solution,” Miller said. A typical core contains the equivalent of 10 nuclear weapons’ worth of nuclear and radioactive material, she said, citing information from the Union of Concerned Scientists. “The idea that it’s a microreactor has a lot of fundamental misconceptions,” she said.

Community skepticism about nuclear microreactors should be respected, one National Renewable Energy Laboratory expert told conference attendees.

“Can we build a nuclear reactor that will work in remote communities? The geeky engineer says, yeah, sure. It’s a technical question. We can do that,” said Ian Baring-Gould, a research program manager, said during one of the sessions. Whether a nuclear reactor would be cost-effective, deliverable and appropriately serviced depends on “community dynamics” as well as technology, he said.

“Can you do it with community acceptance, safely and at a low enough cost? I think that’s the $64,000 question,” he said.