W.Va. Nuclear Initiative With Feds Off

The state of West Virginia was briefly on a federal list of potential nuclear generation sites, but it appears that project is off.  

On Sept. 8, Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced that the state signed a memorandum of understanding to become the 6^th state in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus initiative.  

But a deadline loomed on Sept. 30 to take the next steps discussing financing and potential locations.  

Last week, the Charleston Gazette-Mail published a story, after a review of the initiative application, that indicated the state would also be obligated to explore the storage of spent nuclear fuel.  

In response to that story, Morrisey said he was directing the energy office to make sure the sites would only be used for electric generation.  

Instead of submitting the documentation necessary to the meet the deadline, and first reported by Ogden Newspapers, the state notified the federal government Wednesday it is unable to execute the hosting agreement and commit to program requirements.  

In 1996, the state passed a law banning nuclear power facilities, requiring developers to prove a national nuclear waste disposal site existed. In 2022, the state legislature passed Senate Bill 4, which officially lifted that ban.