Louisiana advances in federal competition for nuclear fuel campus

(The Center Square) – Louisiana is one of five states under consideration for a sprawling federal nuclear campus that could combine power generation with uranium enrichment, fuel manufacturing, spent-fuel reprocessing and nuclear-waste disposal.

Gov. Jeff Landry’s administration signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Department of Energy to continue exploring the Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus initiative, joining Idaho, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah in the next round of discussions.

The agreement does not award Louisiana a campus or commit the federal government to funding one. Rather, it begins negotiations over whether the state can offer a suitable site, financing structure, workforce and regulatory environment for a project that would encompass nearly every stage of the nuclear-fuel cycle. Formal host agreements would come later.

The Energy Department received 28 applications from 26 states. Federal officials estimate that establishing a campus could attract as much as $50 bil...