A symposium that attracted leaders and experts in the fields of energy and environment on Thursday took a look at the state of energy and where it’s headed — from newer technologies, such as agrivoltaics, biochar, wind and solar, to more traditional sources, notably geothermal, oil and gas and nuclear.
Mark Hinaman, an engineer and businessman in the nuclear energy industry, sounded the alarm for Colorado to stop missing nuclear opportunities during the Energy and Environmental Leadership Symposium at the University of Northern Colorado.
Hinaman started off by asking the audience what they thought about nuclear energy and to vote with their eyes closed. More than 75% of the audience said they approve of nuclear energy.
Hinaman pointed to a 2022 poll that showed similar results, although polls earlier this year from both Gallup and the Pew Research Center showed approval is closer to 55% or slightly higher. But it’s also an attitude in favor of nuclear energy that has evolved signifcantly since 2016, when Gallup found just 44% of Americans favored nuclear energy versus 54% opposed.
Colorado has five coal-fired plants for electricity that are being closed in the next few years in Hayden, Craig (two plants), Pueblo and Fort Morgan. Nuclear energy could be part of the solution to replace that energy, Hinaman said, but the amount of time it takes to get those plants up and running could mean a missed opportunity.
Colorado needs to move now on nuclear, Hinaman said.
Hinaman’s vision partly includes microreactors: small scale, portable reactors that can be used in a myriad of ways.
He said nuclear energy is based on energy density: The more dense the energy source, the better. And investment in nuclear energy — and public policy investigations — are on the rise, he said.
The Colorado General Assembly passed legislation in 2023 to require the state’s energy office to study advanced energy solutions for southeastern and northwestern Colorado, including nuclear. Its the first time lawmakers have approved anything related to nuclear energy in years.
Hinaman, who lobbied on the bill on behalf of the Colorado Nuclear Alliance, pointed out that Gov. Jared Polis and his energy office both supported the bill.
It hasn’t been easy gaining support for nuclear energy. Democratic lawmakers rejected several bills, also in the 2023 session, that would have added nuclear to the list of clean energy resources or to study small modular nuclear reactors as a source of carbon-free energy.
There are currently 95 nuclear reactors in the United States at more than 50 locations, Hinaman said, but Colorado stands out on the national map because of its absence. The last nuclear plant in Colorado, the Fort St. Vrain plant in Platteville, in Weld County, was decommissioned in 1992.
Hinaman noted the 95 reactors use just two kinds of technology, despite years of research by national laboratories that came up with 50 to 60 different kinds of reactors.
That’s now chaning with renewed interest and new investment in the nuclear industry, now at about $40 billion in the last year. There are at least 20 different nuclear startups in the works, Hinaman said, with investors, such as Bill Gates, Google and even Chevron.
Sites for investment in microreactors
Sites for investment in microreactors. Courtesy Mark Hinaman of Fire2Fission.
Marianne Goodland marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
The small modular reactors he favors are tiny enough to fit on the back of a truck, can generate up to 20 megawatts of energy and can provide backup power for hospitals, electricity for disaster relief and can even power EV charging stations without relying on wind or solar, he said.
“This can help solve climate change,” Hinaman said.
“Colorado is poised perfectly to bring these manufacturing capabilities” but does not yet have a good plan for that work, he said, adding, “We have to act now.”
Hinaman told Colorado Politics he believes the governor understands nuclar and knows Colorado needs it.
“When I talked to legislators, it was so frustrating that Democrats have been against it,” he said, pointing to environmental non-governmental organizations that have opposed nuclear energy for years.
“The data does not represent that nuclear is harmful to the environment” — just the opposite, he argued.
Nuclear waste, which is often cited as one of the problems, is not dangerous and is actually beneficial, Hinaman said. He added he’s looking for avenues to educate legislators that nuclear is not only safe but expected. Some Democratic lawmakers are stuck in the mythology around nuclear that existed 50 years ago, he said.
But the high cost of nuclear may still be a hindrance to getting it off the ground in Colorado, according to Sen. Chris Hansen, D-Denver, who voted in favor of the 2023 legislation that will look at nuclear.
“There’s still a long ways to go,” Hansen told Colorado Politics.
Hansen studied nuclear engineering in college and said h is familiar with the technology and has worked on it professionally.
“There are exciting possibilities there, but right now the economics are very challenging,” he said.
Hansen, a co-sponsor of the major agrivoltaic bill in the 2023 session, said policymakers will look at the pilot projects going on in Idaho and Wyoming, learn from them and see if they make sense for Colorado
