Northwest Colorado open to prospect of nuclear power generation, survey says

By Lindy J. Browning | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice

With the impending closure of the Craig and Hayden Power Stations, the closing of the coal mines in Northwest Colorado and the state and federal push to rid the area of traditional fossil fuel base load generation,  Rio Blanco, Moffat, and Routt county governments are trying to figure out how to replace the imminent job loss, revenue loss and tax loss that are certain to devastate their local governments and the residents in those communities that have relied on a fossil fuel economy for decades.

To that end, Northwest Colorado energy Initiative (NCEI) was formed under the auspice of Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado (AGNC) to educate and survey area residents concerning the possibility of bringing nuclear power generation to the area to replace the lost fossil fuel generation, and an increasing demand for energy and cost of energy.

The transition away from coal has led to a significant amount of research concerning the replacement of coal’s economic activity in the region, leaders say.  The fact that there is a significant amount of ready-built infrastructure in place to transmit any future alternative power generation, makes the Craig area an attractive asset moving forward.

One of the interesting findings of the 2023 survey was that residents in the area supported the idea of small nuclear modular energy at higher rates than many other areas of the country, making nuclear power generation a potentially attractive strategy for the region.

“We went about the business of educating and surveying the public from a non-political agenda conversation,” said Matt Solomon, project manager for NCEI. “We want the community to choose what works for them and will solve problems for them in the best way for them. When you add in a political element, people don’t trust the process, so we made sure that we didn’t come from that perspective.”

This study aims to provide data that will help the region, stakeholders and policy makers understand the perceptions and interest in nuclear power in the region. The Northwest Colorado region is defined as the area surrounding Craig in Moffat County, the upper most northwest county, with Routt County to the east and Rio Blanco County to the south. All three counties have an energy legacy with coal mining and coal power.

The survey revealed opinions about nuclear energy in Northwest Colorado and the nation. In general, Northwest Colorado residents were more in favor of nuclear energy than the general public  nationwide and demonstrated that they were much more knowledgeable on the subject.

According to the survey, the difference could be because Northwest Colorado respondents have heard more about the topic because of ongoing discussions concerning options to replace the coal plant in community meetings and local governmental meetings held for the public.

Northwest Colorado values reliable, affordable electricity, domestic energy security, and energy independence the most, the survey finds. They place a lower value on climate change and small footprint in comparison. The study revealed that there is a distinct difference between how local residents in Northwest Colorado and the nation valued climate change.

“Northwest Colorado’s impression of the efficiency of each source of electricity rated nuclear the highest, followed by gas and coal. The residents in northwest Colorado clearly preferred  nuclear power over solar, wind and hydrogen at rates much higher than the national average,” according to the report.

Comments received by NCEI during the survey were documented and it appears that the residents are indeed more educated on the pros and cons of different energy base sources. They seem to understand that as part of an all of the above energy strategy, involving much more than political talking points and agendas, but for all the things that must be considered for long-term safe, reliable and abundant energy resources, including the ability to maintain it and get it to the grid at a time when demand is increasing faster than energy can be produced.  

“I want to see the small scale (nuclear), all the same style units throughout the country. (I want) the type where any technician from any other nuclear plant can step into any other plant and operate it safely and efficiently because of redundancy of design. The U.S. Navy has been operating such plants for decades… Such small sites could be better situated and hardened for security than the previous generations of nuclear plants currently operating.  I don’t want to see the big, one-of-a-kind designs that we currently use in the United States. I would answer ‘Strongly Favor’ if I knew that we would have those small-scale power plants in the U.S. and in Northwest Colorado,’ ” one survey respondent commented.

In the most recent meeting of AGNC, Solomon reported to the members that, “We have opened up eyes nationally about what is going on in northwest Colorado.”