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Next Generation Nuclear: Advancing Small Modular Reactors for a Resilient Energy Future

By CSG West

Session Recap

CSG West Chair’s Forum

79th CSG West Annual Meeting
July 9, 2026 | Salt Lake City, Utah


Facilitated by CSG West Chair Utah Senator Todd Weiler, this session convened regional energy leaders, industry experts, and international partners to discuss the technical, regulatory, and policy frameworks required to deploy Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) across the Western United States.


Utah’s Emerging Nuclear Ecosystem

The session highlighted Utah’s proactive stance in establishing a nuclear energy hub. Emy Lesofski, Director of the Utah Office of Energy Development, explained that the state has passed legislation over the last two cycles to create a “permissive environment” for nuclear development. Key developments include:

  • The Utah State Energy Lab: Located in Orangeville, this facility hosts Valor Atomics, a nuclear startup whose test reactor went critical in June 2026 and is currently powering Nvidia chips.

  • Federal Partnership: Utah has applied to host a full nuclear life cycle campus with the Department of Energy (DOE), which would include everything from fuel fabrication to waste disposal.

  • Project Siting: Kirt Marlow, Senior Vice President of Energy Development for High-Tech Solutions, noted that his firm has made recent announcements for reactor sites in Utah, including resuscitating a project in Green River and pursuing a site in Brigham City, Utah.

Photos by Nathanael Peterson.


Technical and Strategic Advantages of SMRs

The panel examined how SMRs differ from traditional large-scale nuclear plants, emphasizing their flexibility, safety, and scalability:

  • Diverse Designs: John Kotek, Senior Vice President of Policy & Public Affairs for the Nuclear Energy Institute detailed various designs, such as TerraPower’s sodium fast reactor for grid flexibility, X-energy’s high-temperature gas reactors for industrial processes, and microreactors for remote communities or data centers.

  • Inherent Safety: Modern designs utilize passive cooling, allowing reactors to shut down automatically without human intervention or external power in the event of a failure.

  • Resource Management: Addressing Western concerns, panelists noted that many SMR designs are air-cooled, making them viable in arid regions with limited water.


Policy, Regulatory, and Financial Considerations

The discussion on the policy, regulatory and financial considerations of SMR’s focused heavily on the hurdles to deployment and the role of state legislators:

  • Regulatory Efficiency: While the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was historically a daunting barrier, recent mandates like the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act have pressured the agency to become more efficient, reducing some permitting timelines from years to months.

  • The “Fleet” Model: To achieve cost-competitiveness, the panel urged for “fleet deployment” rather than one-off projects. This requires states to coordinate “order books” to build 8 to 12 reactors in sequence, thereby driving down capital costs.

  • Public Trust and Waste: The forum addressed the shift toward consent-based siting for nuclear waste. Emy Lesofski emphasized that Utah is open to discussing the entire fuel cycle because the state has a long history of safely managing radioactive materials at facilities like EnergySolutions.


Regional and International Collaboration

A major theme was the necessity of interstate and international partnerships to support a resilient grid:

  • The Canadian Perspective: Rana Sarkar, Consul General of Canada in San Francisco, shared how Canada is already breaking ground on SMR projects in Darlington, Province of Ontario, and emphasized the importance of social license and inter-provincial cooperation.

  • Western State Alliances: Utah has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Wyoming and Idaho (the tri-state energy corridor) to formalize cooperation on transmission, workforce development, and supply chains.

  • Data Center Integration: With AI and data centers driving massive demand for reliable, carbon-free power, companies like Amazon and Meta are increasingly viewed as essential partners who can provide long-term power purchase agreements to help finance early SMR projects.


Takeaways for State Legislators


The session provided several specific takeaways for state legislators looking to advance SMR’s in the West. These include the following:

1. Creating a “Permissive” Legislative Environment

A primary role for state lawmakers is to move beyond merely removing barriers and actively create an environment that facilitates business.

  • Legislative Action: Utah’s success was attributed to passing multiple pieces of legislation over the last two cycles that established a regulatory and legal framework favorable to nuclear development.

  • Internal Streamlining: Beyond federal regulations, states should focus on streamlining their own internal processes, such as through the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), to provide developers with a well-defined and efficient permitting process.


2. The Necessity of Interstate Collaboration

The panel emphasized that no single state can or should attempt to build a nuclear industry in isolation.

  • “Order Books” and Fleet Deployment: To achieve cost certainty, states must move away from “one-off” projects. Instead, they should coordinate “order books” to support fleet deployment (building 8 to 12 reactors in sequence) to drive down capital costs.

  • Regional Models: Legislators were encouraged to look at models like the tri-state energy corridor (Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho) or Canada’s four-province coordination effort to formalize policies on transmission, supply chains, and workforce development.

  • Interconnected Success: Lawmakers should adopt a mentality where project success in a neighboring state is viewed as a benefit to the entire region, as the Western grid is interconnected across borders.


3. Addressing Western-Specific Resource Needs

For Western legislators, the technical design of reactors must match regional constraints.

  • Water Management: Given the arid nature of the West, the panel highlighted that legislators should prioritize and support air-cooled reactor designs that require little to no water, making them easier to site in drought-prone areas.

  • Transmission Investment: Modernizing and expanding transmission is a critical hurdle. Legislators need to support long-term (e.g., 10-year) regional plans to ensure new nuclear power can reach customers across state lines.


4. Workforce and Economic Development

Because most Western states lack a “nuclear utility” or a deep bench of nuclear-trained tradespeople, states must “grow their own” infrastructure.

  • Apprenticeship Programs: Lawmakers should look into establishing regional workforce strategies and apprenticeship programs to prepare for the specialized trades required for nuclear construction.

  • Leveraging “Hyperscalers”: Large data center operators (like Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta) are seeking dependable, carbon-free power. These “hyperscalers” can serve as vital partners by signing long-term power purchase agreements that help finance the high initial costs of SMR projects.


5. Public Trust and Consent-Based Siting

The forum stressed that “social license” is as important as technical licensing.

  • Facts, Not Fear: Utah legislators funded a dedicated education campaign to provide communities with factual information about nuclear safety and realities, helping to push back against negative stigmas.

  • Consent-Based Approach: For both reactor siting and waste management, the panel recommended a consent-based approach where the state and federal government work with local communities on their own terms to determine the benefits of hosting a facility.