The Carbon County Planning Commission on Thursday approved a conditional use permit for Valar Atomics' Raceway Energy Campus, a nuclear, fuel manufacturing and data center complex planned on about 640 acres of state trust land near Wellington.
The commission approved the permit 5-1 after nearly two hours of questions at a special meeting in Price. Commissioner Lisa Simmons voted no. Planning Director Todd Thorne read 26 conditions into the record, with amendments on Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing and permits required before a natural gas plant could operate. A county meeting video and an OpenUtah transcript of that video were used to confirm the vote, conditions and remarks. Official written minutes had not been posted Friday morning on the county's agenda site.
What Valar wants to build
According to the permit application, which The Salt Lake Tribune obtained through an open records request, the campus would include a natural gas plant to power manufacturing, labs and data centers until future small nuclear reactors come online. The application describes plans for 40 to 120 reactors on the state site, along with nuclear fuel fabrication and storage of spent fuel. After the reactors are running, the gas plant, with transmission lines, battery storage and substations, would serve as backup or cover peak demand. The draft permit discusses up to 3 gigawatts of on-site nuclear and natural gas generation.
Valar argues the campus is a conditional use allowed under the site's "mining and grazing" zoning. The Trust Lands Administration board unanimously approved the lease of more than 640 acres on Sept. 17, KSL reported. A separate Valar proposal on about 9,000 acres of surrounding Bureau of Land Management land remains under federal review and is not part of this permit. The county permit also does not license a reactor. Valar told commissioners it cannot begin nuclear construction or operate commercial reactors until the NRC issues the required licenses.
What the permit requires
The 26 conditions require Valar to use industrial water, not culinary supplies, for power generation and cooling; keep power generation at least a half-mile from any home; limit noise to 70 decibels at residences; post financial surety for site reclamation before a certificate of occupancy; and host at least three public town halls. Building permits also depend on approved plans for storm drainage, traffic, construction management, emergency response and noise.
Commissioner Kurt McFarlane voted yes but said the 70-decibel limit is too high and that East Coal Creek Road cannot handle the project, urging a new access off Airport Road as soon as possible. Valar said it would improve East Coal Creek Road in the near term and later shift traffic to a new road across BLM land. Cory Gardner, the company's head of commercial development, said Valar's planning goal is "zero local water," with industrial sources if that is not allowed. Valar said employment would start in the hundreds and could later peak around 4,500 jobs, including construction.
A crowded meeting, but not a public hearing
County Attorney Christian Bryner told the crowded chamber the decision is administrative under state law, not a public hearing. He asked the sheriff to watch for out-of-order remarks, and the chair warned the audience not to disrupt the meeting. Commissioner Mackenzie Burnett said she received 102 form emails opposing the project just before the meeting.
Before the hearing, State Sen. Nate Blouin, D-Millcreek, had called the newly disclosed natural gas plant "a bait-and-switch," and Price pathologist Leo Hardy had urged neighbors to attend and pressed the county on a citizen petition seeking a temporary moratorium on large-scale energy projects. For background on the state's energy push, see our coverage of Gov. Spencer Cox's call that Utah "must build".