You could see a new era of job opportunities coming to the shuttered Kewaunee Power Station in the future. It has been over a decade since Dominion Resources announced it was shutting down and decommissioning the plant. Energy Solutions took over the decommissioning efforts in 2021. During Tuesday’s Kewaunee County Board meeting, Kewaunee County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Ben Nelson told the board that Energy Solutions has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Terrestrial Energy, which is exploring integral molten salt reactors for the site. Terrestrial Energy’s website shows that IMSRs use molten salt fission technology to produce safe, carbon-free, low-cost power. The power generated could be used to power a data center that houses and manages IT infrastructure such as servers, storage, and networking equipment. If that were to happen, moving the spent fuel rods on the site would need to be considered. Nelson says the economic impact would be big for the county.
When asked about the KCEDC’s role in the project, Nelson says it is acting as the boots on the ground, connecting different stakeholders together.
Nelson touched on several other projects the KCEDC is working on, which he says involve nearly $3 billion in capital investment, 2,000 to 3,000 jobs, annual tax revenue of $76 million, and an annual economic impact of more than $100 million if they reach their full potential. You can watch Nelson’s presentation and the rest of the Kewaunee County Board meeting below.
