New Mexico Could Soon Have a Nuclear Power Plant

 New Mexico Could Soon Have a Nuclear Power Plant

Three New Mexican politicians—U.S. Senators Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman, as well as U.S. Congressman Steve Pearce—issued a joint bipartisan news release last Friday, in which federal lawmakers took pride. Their jubilant speeches served as a reminder to the voters of the lawmakers' true purpose in Washington: to get new jobs for some residents of New Mexico. There has been a lot of gushing about how this story has boosted the state's economy and added jobs, but has anyone said anything else that has not been mentioned yet?

Being the longest-serving U.S. Senator in New Mexico's history, Senator Domenici scored another big win. The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is headed by the Republican Senator. In his book "A Brighter Tomorrow: Fulfilling the Promise of Nuclear Energy" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2004), Domenici expressed his views on nuclear energy in a straightforward manner. After it became clear that Hartsville, Tennessee did not want uranium being enriched in their area, he started recruiting Louisiana Energy Services to relocate to New Mexico in February 2003.

Domenici was once again the guy responsible for approving the Part 810 Waiver after he negotiated with Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman at the last minute. Thanks to the waiver, LES was able to reach out to Urenco Ltd, a company owned by foreigners, about the possibility of transferring gas centrifuge technology and other high-tech data to their new facility for use in uranium enrichment. Although such transfers of nuclear technology are often forbidden by U.S. law, the project was able to reach the NRC clearance stage because to Domenici's assistance. Drawing inspiration from the L.A. area, LES has been in the works since 1989. When LES first came together, it was to construct a centrifuge enrichment facility near Homer, Louisiana.

Almost every politician and every member of the nuclear business can see Senator Domenici's fingerprints on the American nuclear renaissance. When asked about his 1997 prediction of nuclear power's return to the US, he made the announcement last year. My goal over the past eight years has been to contribute to the realisation of that renaissance. Is there anything more Senator Domenici would like to accomplish for the nuclear business before he steps down from his position as a senator? To reprocess nuclear fuel is Domenici's "A Brighter Tomorrow" a lament and a slur. It is possible that Domenici will bring a nuclear power plant to New Mexico before he departs, according to the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP).

On the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee, Domenici's Democratic colleague, Jeff Bingaman, serves as the ranking Democrat. We have reason to believe that Bingaman will be instrumental in assisting Senator Domenici in realising that goal. Ironically, Senator Bingaman was effusive in praising the LES enrichment facility, saying, "This will be one of the largest construction projects our state has ever seen." This was in November, when he was invited to a Santa Fe anti-nuclear environmentalist fundraiser that featured television mogul Ted Turner. And south-east New Mexico's economy will feel the effects for sure. Is Bingaman seemingly involved in the nuclear chessboard on both sides?

No, the ex-attorney is skilfully juggling his roles as a decent Democrat and doing what he may genuinely think is best for his state. He supposedly allegedly gave legal counsel to uranium mining behemoth Kerr McGee. “I share a belief that nuclear power can make a meaningful contribution to controlling the growth of greenhouse gases, while still allowing our economy to expand." Bingaman accepted the William S. Lee Award for Leadership at the Nuclear Energy Institute’s (NEI) annual conference in May, alongside Domenici and others, while he has been courting environmentalists. We think he might be one of the first to back more nuclear growth in New Mexico based on his comment that followed, which was addressed at the NEI. I hope you'll do what Congress has asked of you and use the tools they've provided to make nuclear power a viable option for our energy future, he addressed the NEI.

A Joint International Initiative on Nuclear Power

President Bush's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) had Senator Domenici's backing in March 2006.

By implementing GNEP, we are taking the first steps towards eliminating nuclear waste in a way that will limit its quantity and toxicity while also preventing its proliferation. By reusing the uranium—which makes up 96% of used fuel—and separating the most dangerous radioactive elements, spent nuclear fuel can be burned in an advanced burner reactor. We can cut the amount of waste sent to Yucca Mountain in half by recycling uranium fuel and burning transuranic material in next-gen, state-of-the-art reactors.

The GNEP programme relies on several technologies, including the ABR, which stands for Advanced Burner Reactor. Drawing inspiration from fast reactors used to manufacture nuclear weapons, the idea behind the ABR is to reduce the amount of radioactive waste generated by power plants in the nuclear sector to a negligible level. Transuranic elements, including plutonium and other long-lived radioactive materials, are intended to be "burned" by the ABR. By transforming the transuranics into shorter-lived isotopes, burning the radioactive waste destroys them. A tremendous quantity of energy is released and subsequently transformed into electricity as the transuranic elements are devoured by the ABR.

Recycling the radioactive waste into energy that people can consume right away would be preferable to dumping multiple football fields' worth of nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain or some other location for a million years. Integrating the ABR with the existing or upgraded light water reactors is a component of the GNEP blueprint. The ABRs ingest the transuranics produced by the light water nuclear reactors, which are extremely radioactive materials. It produces electricity right now and reduces the amount of nuclear waste that needs to be disposed of in the future.

"Please don't put it in our backyard." That's the main concern in the western United States over nuclear waste. A number of western states have been contacted, and the Carlsbad region was even considered at one point. Reducing the quantity of this waste using ABR technology would make it an easier disposal issue. If you want to know where the two senators from New Mexico stand on a nuclear power plant for their home state, you might want to check out the local politics.

A Nuclear Power Plant in the Works at New Mexico's Enrichment Facility?

Some state legislators from New Mexico seemed elated when we spoke with them yesterday, even though federal lawmakers seem to be pleased with the planned uranium enrichment complex. John A. Heaton, a Democratic lawmaker representing Carlsbad in New Mexico, spoke highly of the enrichment plant, saying, "It's the first step in converting this country to nuclear energy."

The four state senators and representatives we spoke with much agreed with one another in their appreciation of Urenco's proposed enrichment facility. To put it simply, Senator Carroll H. Leavell expressed his utmost satisfaction. "The economy will be greatly benefited by it." Up to 1200 people might be needed to complete the project at its busiest. Once the factory is up and running, over 300 employees will be left behind. The town hall hearings for the proposed facility in southeastern New Mexico were surprisingly supportive, which was a great surprise for all four of us. The locals would be overjoyed to have this facility constructed. "Most of the (anti-nuclear) protests have come from outside our area, places like San Francisco, DC and Santa Fe," Senator Leavell railed against, expressing his disdain.

After touring an enrichment technology plant in Almelo, Netherlands, Urenco Ltd. invited Senators Leavell and Gay G. Kernan, Hobbs' state senator, on a tour. They were impressed by the company's honesty and, most notably, the management's attitude of considering all sides of the issues. The two senators from the state also noted that the enrichment facility had no detrimental effects on the neighbouring communities.

We polled all four on the subject of a potential nuclear power facility in New Mexico in an effort to gain a better understanding of the future. The four of us thought it would be a good idea. We were made to believe that there might be a second step after Heaton's speech about the enrichment facility, because the four state politicians continued to make remarks along those lines.

A Democratic lawmaker from the town of Eunice—which is geographically closest to the proposed enrichment facility—named Donald L. Whitaker expressed his desire to see a nuclear reactor in New Mexico. Whitaker thinks a nuclear power plant would be beneficial to the economy of the state after touring one. "They bring high-paying jobs and employ about a thousand people," he claimed. There were other legislators from eastern New Mexico who shared Representative Whitaker's views.

It is our desire to have a nuclear reactor in New Mexico, Rep. Heaton declared. Heaton serves on multiple committees in the legislature, including the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee, where he serves as Vice Chairman. He spoke over the ABR technology and the GNEP, outlining how they would change people's minds about nuclear power and how they would eliminate the nuclear reactor waste disposal issue.

Senator Leavell proceeded with more caution, outlining the enormous water requirements of nuclear reactors. "Given the state of nuclear power today, I really doubt that New Mexico could support a nuclear reactor." Still, he couldn't deny that it would be wise to find ways to reduce water consumption through technological innovation.

One of the contenders for the GNEP programme, according to Senator Gay Kernan, who said, "I don't know if I should be talking about this." Senator Kernan gave us the news that a nuclear power facility in eastern New Mexico could be in the works, confirming rumours that General Atomics is considering the project. He also informed us that West Texas could be transformed into a "alternative energy corridor." The area from Carlsbad, New Mexico to the Odessa-Midland, Texas area will be covered, she informed us. A nuclear power facility in New Mexico is something Senator Kernan is in favour of, saying, "I don't have a problem with that."

Senators Domenici and Bingaman were joined by U.S. Congressman Steve Pearce in supporting the NRC's acceptance of a draft licence for LES and Urenco Ltd. He may have hinted at New Mexico's next move in remarks made by his press secretary on Friday, which lauded the LES announcement and read: "Today's announcement marks a major milestone in our efforts to cement our state's leadership role in the development of alternative energy." When it comes to state leadership, what could be more impressive than revolutionary Mexico's introduction of the revolutionary GNEP ABR technology? Even today, New Mexico is regarded as the birthplace of nuclear technology due to its association with Los Alamos, the site of the first atomic weapon design.

On a similar note, Congressman Pearce and University of Texas of the Permian Basin President David Watts recently met to discuss the possibility of constructing an underground helium-cooled nuclear reactor plant in either Andrews County, Texas or Lea County, New Mexico. The pre-conceptual design is under ongoing and is expected to be finished in August, with funding provided by General Atomics of San Diego. Andrews County is home to Waste Control Specialists' low-level radioactive waste storage facility. We can't rule out the possibility of a nuclear power plant in New Mexico. It is possible that the lawmakers will get their way. In the end, we expect Senator Domenici to move on with the plans to build New Mexico's first nuclear power plant. His life's work in fostering the nuclear renaissance in his state and the nation would culminate in this.

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