\u201cMembers of the Freedom Caucus inspired \u2018Club No\u2019 convinced Radiant that Wyoming isn\u2019t about leadership and problem solving,\u201d Gordon said in a prepared statement. \u201c\u2018Club No,\u2019\u201d he continued, \u201chas ushered in a new culture of no matter who began or who commenced it, we\u2019re against it. That is not the way Wyoming became the great state it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Key to Radiant\u2019s proposal was the fact that it required a change in state law to allow storage of spent nuclear fuel waste. A measure to do just that was tabled this summer by the Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee amid an outpouring of opposition from around the state<\/a>.<\/p>\n Gillette Republican Rep. John Bear said he suspects Gordon is vying to win support from political donors associated with the nuclear industry to potentially oust Freedom Caucus members in future elections.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019d like to have free reign over the state of Wyoming policies, even if it\u2019s not him in office,\u201d Bear told WyoFile.\u00a0<\/p>\n As Emeritus Chairman of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, Bear pointed to the group\u2019s statement issued in July: \u201cWyoming must continue to be a leader in proven energy production, not settle as a dumping ground for nuclear waste from other states.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m taking an educate-the-public [approach] and detractors are taking an opposite approach, which I believe is to make the deal and tell the public about it,\u201d Bear said.<\/p>\n Though no less caustic at times, residents in Natrona and Campbell counties have grappled with nuclear energy proposals, searching for answers about a high-stakes industry they\u2019re not familiar with and assurances about the prospect of storing highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel waste near their homes.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019d like to get some fair information, some unbiased information that isn\u2019t coming from people who stand to gain from these proposals,\u201d Bar Nunn resident Lee-Ann Newquist told WyoFile. \u201cIt\u2019s not a for-or-against issue. There are people in the middle who are not being represented.\u201d<\/p>\n Monied, outside companies eager to plant the next generation of nuclear energy facilities in and around Wyoming<\/a> are moving too quickly, some residents say, while fervent supporters \u2014 including some state and local elected officials \u2014 tend to cast doubters as reactionary NIMBYs. Many residents haven\u2019t made up their minds about nuclear energy in Wyoming, which has triggered debates even among married couples.<\/p>\n WyoFile interviewed a dozen residents during two recent public meetings: One on Sept. 29 at Casper College, and another on Sept. 30 in Gillette, to get a gut-check on the nuclear energy conversation in Wyoming. Though some were decidedly for and some decidedly against various aspects of nuclear energy proposals, their responses were mostly apolitical. They revealed conflicted feelings about potential benefits and risks and much frustration about who to trust for credible answers to endless questions.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what they said.<\/p>\n Natrona County<\/p>\n About 100 Natrona County residents attended, \u201cLet\u2019s Set The Table \u2014 Nuclear 101<\/a>,\u201d presented by retired uranium mining engineer Wayne Heili. Though the presentation, which included a question-and-answer format, didn\u2019t focus specifically on Radiant\u2019s proposal \u2014 which was still active in Wyoming at the time \u2014 it was top of mind.<\/p>\n \u201c[Radiant] can come in if it\u2019s the right business for the community,\u201d Bar Nunn resident Chris Hermel told WyoFile. \u201cBut the safety issues, to me, have not been addressed \u2014 not to my satisfaction.\u201d The company\u2019s assurances regarding safety protocols for transporting radioactive materials in and out of the community, for example, lacked details. \u201cIt needs to come with proof, not just somebody saying, \u2018It\u2019s safe,\u2019 and \u2018Trust me.’\u201d<\/p>\n Radiant Industries<\/p>\n California-based startup Radiant Industries<\/a> announced plans early this year to build a nuclear microreactor manufacturing plant just outside the town of Bar Nunn, a few miles north of Casper. The community was an ideal location, company officials said, for its existing manufacturing and heavy industry support services \u2014 and the fact that Wyoming is already home to uranium mining, which Radiant would eventually tap for its fuel supply chain.\u00a0<\/p>\n Radiant\u2019s portable, TRISO<\/a>-fueled Kaleidos microreactors<\/a> would be deployed to clients, including the U.S. Military, around the world. When a unit needs refueling, it would be sent back to the manufacturing plant, and the spent fuel would be stored on site and presumably moved to a permanent federal nuclear fuel waste repository if one is built.<\/p>\n The plan would require a change to Wyoming\u2019s decades-long ban on spent nuclear fuel waste, which lawmakers considered but so far have not taken action on. The company announced Oct. 13 that it was withdrawing its plans in Wyoming<\/a> to instead build in Tennessee.<\/p>\n Like many others, Hermel wasn\u2019t convinced that Radiant\u2019s nuclear fuel waste would ever leave the Natrona County facility, noting there is no federal repository. \u201cIt seems like they\u2019re trying to rush it through without having all of the details,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The divide over Radiant and other nuclear energy proposals in Wyoming sometimes includes disagreements within the same household.<\/p>\n Lisa and Wayne Kasparek of Bar Nunn, after listening to Heili\u2019s presentation, challenged each other over the safety of storing spent nuclear fuel near their community.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they have so many places that are already storing waste, why can\u2019t the waste be stored at a facility that is already storing it?\u201d Wayne posed to his wife.<\/p>\n \u201cThey addressed that in there,\u201d Lisa responded. \u201cThey\u2019re looking to possibly have one storage facility,\u201d she said, referring to hopes for a renewed effort to establish a federal nuclear waste repository.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, and Wyoming might be it, since we\u2019re wide open and we don\u2019t have a large population,\u201d Wayne said.<\/p>\n Though not opposed to nuclear energy manufacturing, both Kaspareks said they worry about other projects that would generate electricity in Wyoming but ship the power out of the state \u2014 like TerraPower\u2019s Natrium nuclear plant under construction in Kemmerer \u2014 fearing it might increase their power bills.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to hear specifics on how it\u2019s going to affect our pocketbook,\u201d Lisa Kasparek said. \u201cI\u2019m comfortable with the safety features because I think we\u2019ve come so far in learning about nuclear power.\u201d<\/p>\n Others lamented what they see as a tendency \u2014 including among elected officials \u2014 to draw lines for residents to either be for or against nuclear energy, particularly regarding Radiant\u2019s proposal. Lee-Ann Newquist of Bar Nunn, said that tendency to draw lines amplified tensions over the issue in Bar Nunn and left many, including herself, doubtful about who can be considered a trusted, unbiased source of information.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rather than town hall meetings organized by elected officials, Newquist said, \u201cmaybe set up a citizens committee so we can have a roundtable discussion long before things are actually breaking ground and money is being spent.\u201d<\/p>\n Campbell County<\/p>\n In Gillette, BWXT hosted a public information session<\/a>, attracting nearly 300 attendees. The company\u2019s director of business development, Joshua Parker, gave a short presentation, and attendees milled around to pose questions to company officials posted around the venue.<\/p>\n DJ Towne brought a notebook with questions and penciled in answers as she visited each station.<\/p>\n \u201cI asked them about worst-case scenarios when you\u2019re transporting the stuff: What happens if?\u201d Towne told WyoFile. \u201cShe said there\u2019s required packaging, so that in case of a crash in bad weather, it\u2019s not radioactive.\u201d<\/p>\n BWXT<\/p>\n Lynchburg, Virginia-based BWXT<\/a> proposes to build a $500 million TRISO nuclear fuel manufacturing facility in Gillette. Construction of the \u201cCategory II<\/a>\u201d plant is expected to begin about a year from now, with an in-service target of 2030, according to the company.<\/p>\n TRISO consists of tiny enriched uranium pellets the size of poppyseeds, each encased in \u201ccarbon- and ceramic-based materials that prevent the release of radioactive fission products,\u201d according to the Department of Energy.<\/a> The facility will not produce or store any high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel in the state, according to the company<\/a>. BWXT hopes to eventually tap Wyoming\u2019s uranium mining industry to supply its fuel chain.<\/p>\n The Wyoming Energy Authority announced earlier this month that it is recommending a $100 million state grant<\/a> to support the project.<\/p>\n Towne was still hunting down a BWXT official to answer another question: What kind of tax breaks is the company seeking from the federal and state government? She arrived at the event uncertain about whether she might ultimately support BWXT\u2019s project.<\/p>\n \u201cI just wanted more information before I made a decision,\u201d Towne said. \u201cThat\u2019s what a lot of people are here for, to be informed so we don\u2019t misunderstand what it actually is.\u201d<\/p>\n Ronda Boller was equally undecided when she arrived at the event. Though she was there to learn about the proposed nuclear fuel manufacturing facility, she was also wary about a sense of enthusiasm for nuclear energy throughout the community. The town\u2019s long boom-and-bust history instills a sense of desperation, she noted.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we get on a boom, we\u2019re like, \u2018Let\u2019s run with it,’\u201d Boller said.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s what happened with the coal-bed methane boom of the 2000s<\/a>, she said. Local and state officials eagerly embraced hundreds of companies that flooded into northeast Wyoming, overlooking some important safeguards and long-term implications. \u201cAnd now the state is stuck filling those wells,\u201d Boller said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Millions in taxpayer dollars have been earmarked to clean up more than 2,000 orphaned wells<\/a>, which can release methane, pollute groundwater and pose other hazards to people and wildlife.<\/p>\n Her advice to fellow residents: \u201cDon\u2019t get greedy. Don\u2019t get in a hurry. Whatever you do, take your time. Make sure you understand everything and don\u2019t think this is the next big boom.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter watching what happened with [coal-bed methane], you can\u2019t do that with nuclear,\u201d Boller added. \u201cI just want to make sure that if we do this, we do it right and we think it through.\u201d<\/p>\n Kyle Van Lant was among those excited to see the nuclear energy industry come to town.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis might not be the consensus in Gillette, but I\u2019m a big believer in renewable energy,\u201d the 25-year-old civil engineer said. \u201cI think it\u2019s extremely important that we learn how to balance our carbon output and input, and nuclear energy, I think, is probably the most feasible way for that to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Van Lant moved to Gillette from Los Angeles two years ago and has become increasingly interested in how the community \u2014 famous for its prolific coal, oil, natural gas and uranium production \u2014 might adapt to changing energy markets. \u201cSo I\u2019ve been learning about nuclear energy and its feasibility in Gillette,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m excited and optimistic. I just hope people are receptive to it.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Chuck-Gray-3-Bar-Nunn-July-21-2025-DBleizeffer.jpg\")
Secretary of State Chuck Gray speaks at a town hall event in Bar Nunn on July 21, 2025. (Dustin Bleizeffer\/WyoFile)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Nuclear-radiation-warning-sign-INL-Sept-2025-DBleizeffer.jpeg\"){kind=spacer}
A sign alerts of required radiological training at the Idaho National Laboratory. (Dustin Bleizeffer\/WyoFile)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Wayn-Heili-Nuclear-101-talk-Casper-Sept-2025-DBleizeffer.jpg\"){kind=spacer}
Retired uranium miner Wayne Heili delivered a \u201cnuclear 101\u201d presentation at Casper College in September. (Dustin Bleizeffer\/WyoFile)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Lee-Ann-Newquist-Bar-Nunn-Sept-2025-DBleizeffer.jpg\")
Bar Nunn resident Lee-Ann Newquist. (Dustin Bleizeffer\/WyoFile)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/BWXT-Joshua-Parker-Gillette-Sept-2025-DBleizeffer.jpg\")
Joshua Parker of BWXT speaks to a crowd of about 300 in September 2025, in Gillette. (Dustin Bleizeffer\/WyoFile)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/INL-Irradiated-Materials-Characterization-Laboratory-window-DBleizeffer.jpeg\")
Irradiated equipment inside a fortified examination tank at the Idaho National Laboratory testing center. (Dustin Bleizeffer\/WyoFile) <\/p>\n