A Wyoming trona and soda ash producer has inked a deal to potentially plug into multiple nuclear power microreactors — a “milestone” that proponents say helps pave the way for the commercial deployment of small-scale nuclear energy throughout the state and across the globe.
Tata Chemicals Soda Ash Partners, a subsidiary of global conglomerate Tata Chemicals North America, announced last week it signed a letter of intent with Lynchburg, Virginia-based BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC for up to eight microreactors, also commonly referred to as small modular reactors. Pending a finalized deal, the partners hope to deploy the reactors at Tata’s operations in 2030, according to the companies.
Tata, which relies on Rocky Mountain Power for electricity to power its Wyoming operations, also uses its own coal and natural gas boilers to generate steam used in the soda ash refining process. Shifting to nuclear energy will allow the company to rely less on outside electrical power while also ditching the coal and gas boilers for its steam needs, the company says.
Plus, the reactors will help meet the company’s U.S. and international customers’ growing insistence on a soda ash product with a lower-carbon footprint, spokesman Jon Conrad told WyoFile.
“Our customers are demanding a more green and more environmentally friendly soda ash,” Conrad said, adding that the future for soda ash is “bright,” so it’s important to meet its customers’ needs. Soda ash is used in glass manufacturing and powdered detergents, among other things.
The potential deal is exactly what many Wyoming leaders have been gunning for in recent years. In addition to embracing TerraPower’s larger-scale Natrium nuclear power plant already under construction outside Kemmerer, the state has been working closely with BWXT to establish a microreactor manufacturing facility here that would tap existing industrial shops in the state that are eager to expand their clientele amid uncertainty in the oil, natural gas and coal industries.
BWXT was among the first recipients of Wyoming’s Energy Matching Funds program to the tune of $10 million.
“This [letter of intent] is an incredibly positive step forward for the expanding nuclear sector in Wyoming,” Wyoming Energy Authority Executive Director Rob Creager said in a prepared statement. “As a longtime energy leader, it is crucial for us to continue to bring public-private investments like this to Wyoming. Supporting the trona industry while creating and extending the state’s portfolio of baseload power is a win for everyone.”
Wyoming’s pursuit of nuclear reactor manufacturing and deployment not only fits existing capabilities, but is a necessity for the state, Gillette-based L&H Industrial President Mike Wandler said. Wandler also leads the Wyoming Innovative Entrepreneurs group that’s been working with BWXT and others to launch the industry here.
“It’s a matter of national security,” Wandler told WyoFile earlier this year.
While nations are striving toward net-zero carbon emissions, global demand for electricity is skyrocketing, Wandler noted. The U.S. is in a race with Russia and China to be the first to gain a commanding foothold in nuclear microreactor deployment for commercial and domestic energy.
“We really don’t have a choice,” Wandler said.
So far, the cost of building and deploying microreactors at Tata’s Wyoming operations is an open question that Conrad declined to estimate.
“We do understand the cost could be significant,” he said, adding that part of the deal includes seeking investors and additional government grants.
Deploying microreactors will involve federal and state permitting that includes public input — processes that are being updated in anticipation of growing demand for the technology. Many watchdog groups worry about the environmental, human health and national security implications of deploying small nuclear reactors, while some energy policy analysts criticize the use of public funds and resources to bolster the industry.
Bringing the technology to commercial scale in the U.S. has been part of President Joe Biden’s clean energy agenda, according to the administration, which earlier this year announced $900 million in potential grants to support “next-generation nuclear technologies.”
Tata produces about 5 million tons of trona annually at its underground mine west of Green River, and employs some 564 workers at its mine and soda ash processing facilities, according to the company.
A number of years ago Warren Morton, a well respected member of Wyoming’s legislature, suggested to me (his office was next to mine) that a possible solution to disposal and permanent storage of nuclear waste could be to use the worked-out portions of one or more of the underground trona mines in the southern Green River Basin. I have been thinking about this proposal and how to promote it for the benefit of the state ever since that chance encounter outside our offices. Let me emphasize that I am a totally retired 95 year-old geologist and have no financial interest in any future development of this concept.
Some advantages of using abandoned portions of trona mines for permanent storage of nuclear wastes are:
*No likelihood of any contamination of ground water. Trona is a soluble salt and its very presence indicates that there is little chance of contact with any ground water.
*Trona, being a salt, is somewhat plastic; so over a very long time would “squeeze” in and totally encase anything left in a void space.
*The southern Green River Basin is an area of fairly low earthquake potential, unlike the current Nevada mountain storage site.
*One of the companies in the process of building a business of manufacturing components for small nuclear reactors already has a partnership with one of the Green River companies for supply of trona as a component of their reactors. This might provide a “take it out-put it back” arrangement.
*Such a storage facility could create a whole new long-term business for Wyoming with employment potential for experienced miners.
I hope someone might take this concept and run with it.
The WSJ had an article about soda ash now being used for battery storage. The future looks bright for Trona in Wyoming.
This is a good thing.