Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
A private energy company is abandoning a proposal to store nuclear waste at a site in the southeast new mexico,
Holtec International described “an untenable path for used fuel storage in New Mexico” as it walked away from a proposal to temporarily withhold spent fuel from commercial nuclear power plants throughout the country. The New Jersey-based company confirmed its decision on Thursday.
Holtec said the move will allow it to work with other states that are more responsive.
The New Mexico project was rejected despite a favorable U.S. Supreme Court ruling in August, which restarted plans for temporary storage. texas And New Mexico.
The United States is at an impasse over a permanent solution to storing spent nuclear fuel, as approximately 100,000 tons (90,000 metric tons) of spent fuel, some of it dating back to the 1980s, piles up at current and former nuclear plant sites across the country. The waste was to be stored there temporarily before being deposited deep underground.
US nuclear regulators licensed a proposed multibillion-dollar storage complex in New Mexico in 2023, while protests continued.
New Mexico Government. Michelle Lujan Grisham and this Legislature Strongly opposed legislation that threatened to withhold at least some state permits until a permanent storage solution was found.
Sen. Jeff Steinborn of Las Cruces, the bill’s lead sponsor, said, “When you have no permanent repository for spent nuclear fuel, it’s inappropriate to call it ‘interim.’
He described Holtec’s decision to withdraw as “a huge relief” and added that “of course this is still a national problem that needs to be solved.”
In contrast, Lujan Grisham’s Republican predecessor, Susana Martínez, had been supportive of the project. Holtec had argued that the plan was safe and would be an economic boon for the area, without interfering with nearby oil development.
Critics of the project, including the Sierra Club, said Holtec’s decision highlights a permanent hurdle.
Camila Fabelman of the Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter said, “Nuclear energy is a complex problem – no one wants it to go to waste.”