At a Tuesday hearing of the Louisiana House Committee on Natural Resources, state leaders outlined a bold plan to secure a federal nuclear lifecycle innovation campus. The proposal, submitted to the Trump administration in May, aims to attract nuclear‑industry investment that could generate as many as 25,000 new jobs across the state.
One site per state, multiple parishes in the running
Louisiana will compete with Idaho, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah for a single campus location. Amanda McClinton, executive director of the Office of Energy, said three states are expected to be selected by late 2026 or early 2027, with the possibility of additional sites later.
Deputy Secretary Stephen Swiber confirmed the Trump administration will choose one site per state. Parishes that wish to be considered must forward resolutions from their local legislative bodies. So far, St. Charles Parish (home to the Waterford 3 plant), West Feliciana Parish (River Bend plant), East Feliciana Parish and the governing body for Port Fourchon have expressed interest.
What the campus would include
The Louisiana plan envisions a small modular reactor to power a strategic military asset in Northwest Louisiana, enrichment and testing facilities at LSU, and the use of offshore salt domes near Port Fourchon for nuclear‑waste disposal. The campus would also incorporate fuel‑reprocessing capabilities, a step the United States has never taken on a commercial scale.
Swiber noted that the federal Department of Energy would subsidize and guide the reprocessing and waste‑disposal components. He cited federal estimates of roughly 100,000 tons of spent fuel stored nationwide and said Louisiana hopes to reprocess material from River Bend, Waterford 3 and the Grand Gulf plant in Mississippi, which together store about 1,600 tons.
Economic upside and job creation
State officials argue the campus could diversify Louisiana’s economy, reduce reliance on natural‑gas‑generated electricity (which supplies 72 % of the state’s power), and create a supply‑chain hub for modular reactors being built elsewhere. Turner Industries, for example, announced plans to expand nuclear manufacturing at its Port Allen and New Iberia facilities, adding 500 jobs.
“We don’t have to have the reactors here,” said Rep. Joe Orgeron (R‑Cut Off). “We just want to be part of the supply chain that builds them for the rest of the nation.”
Utility‑scale reactors unlikely in the near term
Economist Greg Upton of the LSU Energy Institute warned that the capital cost of large‑scale nuclear plants has become prohibitive. Recent projects at Georgia’s Vogtle plant saw costs more than double original estimates and were delayed by seven years.
Upton compared Louisiana’s four largest utilities’ combined rate base—$23.5 billion—to the projected $37 billion cost of new utility‑scale reactors, concluding that the financial burden would erode utility profits. LSU professor Bryan Snyder added that the industry is shifting toward small modular reactors, which can be built faster and at lower cost, though none are yet operating in the United States.
Recycling, not dumping
Louisiana officials stressed that the state will not become a dumping ground for other states’ waste. While discussions are ongoing about importing spent fuel for reprocessing and then returning the recovered uranium to its country of origin, the ultimate goal is waste reduction, not waste importation.
Swiber emphasized that reprocessing could recover up to 80 % of uranium, similar to practices in France, and that the resulting waste volume would be far smaller than the original spent rods.
Next steps
The Trump administration has pledged to establish voluntary federal‑state partnerships for the selected campuses, though details on financial support or permitting incentives remain pending. Louisiana’s proposal will be reviewed alongside those from the other finalist states, with a decision expected by early next year.
State leaders remain optimistic that the campus will bring high‑tech jobs, bolster the local economy and position Louisiana as a leader in the emerging nuclear‑fuel‑recycling sector.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
