A new report from CNBC examined the problem of nuclear waste disposal, as the Trump administration plans to drastically ramp up nuclear output over the next quarter-century.
Over 105,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel from weapons programs are currently sitting in water-filled pools in 39 states. The Department of Energy lacks a nuclear waste disposal facility, forcing taxpayers to pay up to $800 million extra each year.
Nuclear power is making a comeback due to increased electricity demand, driven by the rise of artificial intelligence centers worldwide. But there's still the issue of how to store the radioactive waste, which can remain dangerous for tens of thousands of years.
In May, President Trump signed an executive order to quadruple nuclear energy output by constructing next-gen small modular reactors and conventional reactors. In early November, the U.S. signed a groundbreaking deal with Cameco and Brookfield Asset Management to spend $80 billion on nuclear power plants.
Among governments, businesses, and the public, there's a growing interest in bringing nuclear power back, which will also benefit AI companies and investors. However, only two nuclear power plants have been constructed since 1990, which is years past when they were expected. Nearly all of the 94 reactors in operation were built between 25 and 60 years ago, signaling it's long past time to ramp up production.
However, the Department of Energy and several public and private companies are at least working on ways to store spent fuel, including by burying it in engineered facilities built deep underground. While plans to create a 6,700-foot-long geological repository in Las Vegas were initially pursued, they were ultimately scrapped. But Finland, Sweden, and France are all working on their own repository sites.
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The American startup Deep Isolation Nuclear is also working on an underground burial concept combined with oil and gas fracking techniques. The company has received grants from the DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy and, in July, closed a deal for a reverse merger.
CEO Rod Baltzer said, "We raised money for a full-scale demonstration project [in Cameron, Texas]. It will probably be early 2027 by the time we get that fully implemented."
Some companies, such as Curio and Shine Technologies, are also working on recycling nuclear waste to extract uranium. So, there are plenty of projects in the works to deal with the nuclear waste, so it doesn't harm the environment. There are some safety concerns with nuclear energy, but it's also a much better source of electricity than dirty fuels since it doesn't produce carbon and can run 24/7.
"The amount of waste involved ... that's not a reason not to do nuclear. ... Say the U.S. was completely nuclear-powered — it's a few rooms worth of total waste. So it's not a gigantic thing," Bill Gates, who is a big advocate of nuclear, told CNBC.
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