Nuclear Data Centers Face Resistance in Utah Coal Country

A proposed nuclear-powered data center complex in Utah's Carbon County is encountering significant local apprehension, despite the region's history with the demanding and hazardous coal industry. Cindy O’Neil, a resident whose husband worked in the local coal mines, expressed deep concern about the new energy projects descending upon her rural community. She stated that these data centers are being situated within a couple of miles of residential areas, raising anxieties that surpass those associated with coal mining's documented risks, such as black lung disease, explosions, and fires. The primary focus of this concern is Valar Atomics, a nuclear startup planning to construct a large-scale facility featuring 456 small modular reactors (SMRs). SMRs represent a relatively new and largely unproven technology in the United States. This "Project Beehive" is slated for vast tracts of Bureau of Land Management land in Carbon County and is reportedly supported by the state of Utah. The project also encompasses a square mile of state-owned trust lands and will involve the storage of radioactive waste, according to a National Public Radio report. The energy generated is intended to power a variety of industrial activities, including data centers. This proposed nuclear venture contrasts sharply with the county's economic past. Carbon County was once a significant coal producer, extracting nearly 10 million tons of coal in 2006. However, the region's primary economic driver has declined over the past few decades due to a transition towards cheaper energy sources like renewables and natural gas, coupled with the depletion of coal seams. Since 2023, coal mining has ceased entirely in Carbon County. Alongside Valar Atomics' project, another data center complex, Altigen Energy's "Jurassic Spark," is also planned for the county. This facility will span hundreds of acres and incorporate a substantial natural gas plant. The rapid influx of these energy-intensive industries signifies an abrupt economic shift for a county that has historically relied on coal extraction, facing its inherent dangers and boom-and-bust cycles. Residents like O'Neil are voicing their worries about the potential long-term impacts of these new, technologically advanced, and potentially hazardous energy infrastructures on their community and environment, highlighting a complex transition from a fossil fuel past to an uncertain energy future.