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Holtec calls off nuclear waste facility in southeastern New Mexico after local pushback
A rendering of the first phase of Holtec International鈥檚 proposed consolidated interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in southeastern New Mexico. The company announced Wednesday that it would abandon plans for the site and will look to build it in other states.
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Holtec International has abandoned plans to build a commercial nuclear waste storage facility in southeastern New Mexico, the company announced Wednesday.
Holtec, in partnership with the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance, said in a statement that 鈥渄ue to the untenable path forward for used fuel storage in New Mexico, we mutually agreed upon cancelling the agreement.鈥�
The Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance could not immediately be reached for comment.
Local advocates and leaders who have long opposed the project welcomed the news.
鈥淗oltec was trying to sell something that nobody would buy,鈥� said Don Hancock, longtime advocate and director of the Nuclear Waste Safety Program at the Southwest Research and Information Center.
New Mexicans 鈥� particularly those who witnessed or experienced the negative health effects of the nuclear industry 鈥� are not naive, Hancock said. Trying to convince cynical citizens that Holtec鈥檚 site would be temporary is near impossible, with no permanent solution on the horizon, Hancock said.
The planned site would have housed 500 canisters of spent nuclear fuel 鈥� a total of 8,680 metric tons 鈥� for 40 years, according to a license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. At the time, Holtec planned to scale up to eventually store 10,000 canisters.
Once built, fuel from nuclear power plants across the country would be transported to the facility by rail.
Not everyone disagreed with the site. Local leaders from Lea and Eddy counties saw the proposed development as a rare opportunity to bring jobs and investments to the rural area.
Hobbs Mayor Sam Cobb is one proponent who said that the facility would be a safe way to diversify the state鈥檚 economy especially as energy demands increase due to power-intensive artificial intelligence data centers.
鈥淧ersonally, I鈥檓 disappointed on behalf of my community,鈥� Cobb said.
Cobb said that the ELEA will look for new projects for the vacant land.
鈥淚鈥檓 a patient man,鈥� Cobb said. 鈥淚 hope that a new opportunity will arise.鈥�
One of the project鈥檚 highest-profile opponents was Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who criticized the proposal and signed legislation to stop it.
In 2023, Lujan Grisham signed into law, banning state agencies from granting additional permits for the storage of nuclear waste.
鈥淚鈥檓 glad that Holtec heard our strenuous objections and decided that fighting to put more nuclear waste in New Mexico was a losing proposition, Lujan Grisham said in a statement Thursday.
Even with the state law, a legal battle ensued in the U.S. Supreme Court over whether nuclear storage facilities could be licensed in New Mexico and Texas鈥� oil drilling country 鈥� a substantial source of revenue for both states. In June, the Supreme Court sided with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and threw out the two states鈥� legal claim.
Even with the Supreme Court鈥檚 backing, a resistant state government proved to be an insurmountable obstacle for Holtec.
The company said in its statement Wednesday that it would 鈥渨ork with other states who are amenable to used fuel storage based on recent (Department of Energy) work on public education and outreach.鈥�
New Mexico Environment Secretary James Kenney pointed to New Mexico鈥檚 history with nuclear waste and ongoing health effects as reason enough to reject the project.
鈥淯ntil Congress finds a solution for spent commercial nuclear wastes, New Mexico will stand in firm opposition of further promises of corporate wealth that occur at the expense of our generational health,鈥� Kenney said in a statement Thursday.
Camilla Feibelman, director of the Rio Grande chapter of the Sierra Club, agreed that New Mexico, the state that developed the atom bomb, has suffered enough.
Though New Mexico鈥檚 energy grid does receive nuclear power from neighboring Arizona鈥檚 Palo Verde Generating Station, Feibelman called the prospect of shipping waste from facilities across the country unfair.
鈥淚f no community wants the waste, even the communities that have generated it, then we need to take a serious look at whether we should be expanding our nuclear reliance,鈥� Feibelman said.
