GREEN RIVER, Utah (ABC 4 News) - Utah is on its way to going nuclear. Plans to build a nuclear power plant are quickly moving forward on the outskirts of Green River in Emery County. The plant would stand about 180 miles southeast of Salt Lake City.
The chances of building a plant in Utah are very high, says Blue Castle Holdings CEO Aaron Tilton. His company is spending $100 million to get permission to build.
Emery County is Utah's number one energy producer delivering 82 percent of the State's needs north to Salt Lake City and south to St. George, but the current energy producers are almost maxed out.
"Nuclear power is consistent with the lowest cost producer of electricity in the U.S. on average," said Tilton. He says his proposed nuclear plant would be powerful enough to provide 50 percent of Utah's energy needs today. "On a scale of 1 to 10 we think it's a 9 or 10 that it's going be built," he said.
The plant would stand four miles west of the small community known as Green River. The plan is to build two 1,500 megawatt units.
ABC 4's Noah Bond talked with locals in Green River. He learned there is overwhelming support for the plant. "We've got families that have learned to live on basically nothing," said Green River Businessman and Church Leader Kelly Bayless. He says his boarded up Community of about 1,000 people needs an economic recovery.
"We're looking about $4 billion worth of tax revenues from the State of Utah," said Emery County Economic Development Director Mike McCandless.
The $4 billion would be generated during the first 20 years of the nuclear plants life and continue until the plant closes down anywhere from 60 to 100 years after opening. "That means schools that means fire stations," said McCandless.
Building the plant would bring 4,000 construction jobs and later 1,200 permanent jobs with an average salary of $80,000 to the region, but the Executive Director for Heal Utah has major concerns. "There's not enough water here in Utah and this is not the best way to use it," said Vanessa Pierce.
She filed a motion to stop the nuclear plant from getting water rights. The plant would use 53,000 acre-feet of water a year dropping the Green River by up to one and a half inches. "With the studies already done on the River we already determined it would not unreasonably affect the environment of the stream," said Tilton.
The answer to whether Utah goes nuclear can be found in the Green River. Colorado River Conservation District Manager Eric Kuhn says there is plenty of water for the nuclear plant in Utah and it would not have a very big impact on the environment. Kuhn also says Utah is not using all of its water rights and there is enough for this plant to operate.
Utah's State Engineer is expected to decide whether to grant Blue Castle Holdings water rights for the nuclear plant by January of 2011.
