A proposed $100 million state grant to bring a nuclear fuel manufacturing facility to Gillette has exposed divisions in the community, with the Campbell County Commission recently rebuffing an effort by the city of Gillette to sign a joint letter supporting the project.
The Wyoming Energy Authority is currently reviewing BWX Technologies Inc.'s application for funding to build a TRISO fuel fabrication facility in Wyoming, with the public comment period closing Tuesday. TRISO is a nuclear fuel made of a uranium-based kernel coated in carbon and ceramic.
Gov. Mark Gordon will make the final decision on whether to approve what could be the largest investment ever toward a non-fossil fuel industry in Gillette.
The prospect of BWXT locating in Gillette inspired a Nov. 20 Wyoming Business Council webinar titled "Understanding the Nuclear Industry," with local officials and business leaders rallying behind the project.
Mike Wandler, CEO of L&H Industrial in Gillette, emphasized the broader economic opportunities during the webinar.
"The supply chain is huge and it's here right now," Wandler said, noting his company recently won a $70 million contract related to nuclear projects. "This is in the billions for Wyoming and we're going to lead the way."
“You can’t underestimate the value of the BWXT people running across Wyoming and seeing the capabilities and seeing who's interested,” added Wandler.
Many are interested, said Rusty Bell, CEO of Energy Capital Economic Development in Gillette.
Bell characterized the current situation as politically charged, but generally supportive of bringing BWXT to town.
"From an economic development standpoint, the members we have at the Chamber of Commerce, I've heard a heck of a lot of support from industry for it," Bell said. "From all across the industry, from the Mining Association to individual mining people and certainly from L&H."
"I think generally BWXT has answered the questions," Bell told Cowboy State Daily.
When it comes to members of the Campbell County Commission and Gillette City Council who have not yet fully backed BWXT, Bell said there remains some who, “Don’t trust the whole nuclear issue in general. They really want to make sure there’s some precautions in place.”
“I think what they're continuing to say is that they don't trust the federal government,” added Bell.
Challenging Legacy
During the Nov. 20 webinar, Josh Parker, BWXT’s director of business development for advanced technologies, said that with technological advancement the nuclear industry is becoming increasingly safe.
Also, Parker reminded residents of Campbell County that there’s a big difference between the current commercial nuclear industry and the high-level nuclear waste left over from the Cold War.
"A lot of times people misconstrue a lot of what happened in the ‘40s and ‘50s and ‘60s with defense nuclear with the commercial nuclear market,” said Parker. “We're an ever-evolving place here in nuclear. There are defense things that we have cleanup and liability that we're still dealing with. But that's not commercial nuclear."
Still, for Jack Clary, the only Gillette City council member to vote against signing Mayor Shay Lundvall's letter supporting BWXT, the threat of high-level nuclear waste coming to Gillette still looms.
BWXT makes it clear it’s not in the waste storage business, and that the proposed facility in Gillette will manufacture fuel, not store waste.
Clary has heard all that, but said, "My background is mining and chemical business for a lot of years. And I know the current permit does not allow for nuclear waste, but I know it doesn't take much to change it.”
Clary said, “You get a permit and if you want to change what you're doing, all you have to do is re-permit.”
Gillette’s deep connection to the coal industry also influences Clary’s view of BWXT.
“If there's reactors built and power companies are always looking for alternate fuel sources to generate electricity, coal miners lose productive jobs as they convert to nuclear," he said, expressing how as he sees it, being pro-nuclear in Gillette, no matter how you feel about waste, isn't good news for the coal industry.
Historic Opportunity?
Lundvall sees it differently.
"Outside of coal, oil and gas, there has not been this kind of investment in Campbell County in the history of Campbell County," Lundvall told Cowboy State Daily. "This is high-paying jobs. This is going to level up the whole community and the whole state."
When envisioning what BWXT could bring to Gillette, Lundvall said, "I'm super pumped. This is a once in a generation opportunity. This is to me like winning a national championship.”
BWXT's proposed facility would create an estimated 200 jobs, and job creation was something Lundvall said he set out to accomplish when he ran for office.
“It was part of my campaign to diversify and try and do things that probably haven't been done before. Well, when you do that, you don't really know where those opportunities are going to come,” Lundvall told others on the Nov. 20 Wyoming Business Council webinar. “I think the momentum that we have is so powerful because as these polls are showing, people want growth. Campbell County is the energy capital of the nation, but are we? Until we actually go get it, when we actually have to be the ones to actually step in this race and start running."
BWXT is committed to more than matching the $100 million WEA grant with, according to the Wyoming Business Council, “over $400 million.”
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
