The enduring dilemma of managing American high-level nuclear waste – Brookings

 

Report on U.S. Nuclear Energy Expansion and Waste Management in the Context of Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary

The United States is witnessing a significant, bipartisan-supported expansion of its nuclear energy sector. This development is critical for achieving several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 13 (Climate Action), by providing a stable, zero-emission power source. However, the nation’s progress is severely hampered by the unresolved challenge of high-level nuclear waste management. This report analyzes the current state of U.S. nuclear policy, the persistent waste dilemma, and contrasts the U.S. approach with successful international models, framing the discussion within the SDG framework. The central challenge lies in aligning infrastructure development with SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions) to ensure a truly sustainable energy future.

Nuclear Energy’s Contribution to U.S. Sustainable Development

Alignment with SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

The expansion of nuclear power directly supports the targets of SDG 7 by increasing the share of clean energy in the national grid and promoting advanced energy technologies.

• Current Output: Nuclear energy currently generates nearly one-fifth of American electricity, surpassing the combined output of wind and solar.
• Policy Support: Bipartisan legislation, such as the 2024 ADVANCE Act, provides federal funding and regulatory support to accelerate the development and deployment of next-generation reactors.
• Infrastructure Growth:
  1. Two new reactors recently became operational in Georgia.
  2. Michigan is restarting a shuttered plant and plans to add small modular reactors (SMRs).
  3. Public-private partnerships, like Microsoft’s investment in the Crane Clean Energy Center (formerly Three Mile Island), signal growing industrial demand for reliable, clean power.

Advancing SDG 9 and SDG 13

Nuclear energy is a cornerstone for building resilient infrastructure (SDG 9) and taking urgent action to combat climate change (SDG 13).

• Climate Action (SDG 13): As a greenhouse gas-free energy source, nuclear power is essential for decarbonizing the electricity sector and mitigating climate change.
• Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure (SDG 9): The push for nuclear expansion will drive innovation in reactor technology and support the massive energy demands of emerging industries like artificial intelligence and data centers, fostering sustainable industrialization.

The Critical Challenge: Nuclear Waste Management and the SDGs

Failure to Meet SDG 12 and SDG 11 Targets

The lack of a permanent solution for high-level nuclear waste represents a failure in achieving SDG 12.4 (environmentally sound management of wastes) and poses long-term risks to SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).

• Current Situation: Approximately 90,000 metric tons of high-level waste are stored at individual reactor sites across the country, with an additional 2,000 metric tons produced annually.
• Historical Policy Failure: The 1980s plan for a permanent geological repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, was derailed by decades of political and legal opposition, highlighting a breakdown in national consensus-building.
• Interim Storage Controversy: A recent Supreme Court decision (NRC v. Texas) dismissed state efforts to block a private interim storage facility. However, this approach is viewed as a temporary fix that could become a de facto permanent burden on host states like Texas and New Mexico, contrary to principles of environmental justice and responsible long-term planning.

Institutional Weakness and SDG 16

The ongoing conflict over waste siting reflects a deficiency in creating effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions, a key target of SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).

1. Top-Down Approach: The federal strategy of designating sites without state or local consent has consistently failed, fostering deep-seated political resistance.
2. State-Federal Conflict: Texas and New Mexico officials are united in their opposition to hosting interim facilities, citing risks to groundwater and regional industries, and decrying the lack of a permanent national plan.
3. Erosion of Trust: Critics argue that licensing “interim” facilities with 40-year, renewable terms without a clear path to a permanent repository undermines public trust and shifts responsibility without providing a true solution.

International Best Practices: A Path Forward Through SDG 17

Lessons from Global Partnerships

Other nations with significant nuclear operations have successfully implemented waste management strategies by embracing the principles of SDG 16.7 (responsive, inclusive, participatory decision-making) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

• Finland and Sweden: These countries are advancing permanent geological repositories developed through extended, deliberative, and consent-based processes. The facilities are sited near existing reactors with strong local political support.
• Canada: Following a similar model, Canada selected a permanent repository site in 2024 after a multi-stage voluntary process involving extensive public and tribal engagement. This process allowed communities to assess technical suitability and negotiate agreements tailored to local economic and safety concerns.

Conclusion and Recommendations

While the U.S. is making commendable progress in expanding its nuclear energy capacity to meet the goals of SDG 7 and SDG 13, its approach to nuclear waste remains unsustainable and misaligned with key development principles. Relying on temporary, politically contentious interim storage solutions undermines SDG 11, SDG 12, and SDG 16.

Recommendations for a Sustainable Path

1. Adopt a Consent-Based Siting Process: The U.S. should formally abandon its top-down approach and legislate a new, voluntary, and consent-based process for siting a permanent geological repository, modeling the successful frameworks used in Canada and Finland.
2. Strengthen Institutions (SDG 16): Establish an independent waste management organization, as recommended by the 2012 Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, to build trust and manage the siting process transparently and inclusively.
3. Foster International Partnerships (SDG 17): Actively learn from and collaborate with nations that have developed successful, permanent waste disposal solutions to accelerate the development of a domestic U.S. strategy.

Only by addressing the nuclear waste challenge with a permanent, equitable, and scientifically sound solution can the United States fully realize the potential of nuclear energy as a cornerstone of its sustainable development strategy.

1. SDGs Addressed in the Article

SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

• The article extensively discusses the expansion of nuclear energy, which it describes as a source of “ongoing electricity supply” that is “free of greenhouse gas emissions.” This directly relates to providing clean and reliable energy. It notes that nuclear power generates nearly “one-fifth of American electricity,” highlighting its significant role in the nation’s energy mix.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

• The development of “next-generation reactors,” the opening of “two new reactors in Georgia,” and plans to restart a shuttered reactor in Michigan all point to the development of resilient energy infrastructure. The article also mentions the “2024 ADVANCE Act” and other policies designed to “incentivize new nuclear energy development,” fostering innovation in the energy industry.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

• The central conflict of the article revolves around managing “high-level nuclear waste.” The current practice of storing this waste “at individual reactor sites” and the debate over new interim storage facilities in Texas and New Mexico directly concern waste management, a key component of sustainable communities. The article highlights risks to local communities, such as “potential risks to groundwater safety” in the Permian Basin.

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

• This goal is addressed through the article’s focus on the lifecycle of nuclear energy, specifically the challenge of managing its byproducts. The core issue is the need for “environmentally sound management of… all wastes,” as the article details the struggle to find a permanent solution for “spent nuclear fuel that must be removed from reactors and isolated from human contact for tens of thousands of years.” The mention of potentially “recycling or reprocessing spent nuclear fuel” also aligns with this goal.

SDG 13: Climate Action

• The article explicitly states that “Nuclear power is free of greenhouse gas emissions, unlike coal or natural gas.” The push for nuclear expansion is framed as a climate solution, contributing to a “major expansion of total American electricity output” to meet new demands without increasing carbon emissions. This aligns with integrating climate change measures into national energy policy.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

• The article details the complex legal and political processes governing nuclear energy and waste. It discusses legislation (“2024 ADVANCE Act”), Supreme Court rulings (“NRC v. Texas”), and the role of institutions like the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The decades-long political and legal resistance to the Yucca Mountain site and the contrast with Canada’s “extensive public engagement efforts” highlight the challenges and importance of effective, accountable, and participatory decision-making.

2. Specific Targets Identified

SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

• Target 7.2: By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. The article supports this by highlighting nuclear power as a major GHG-free energy source, noting it produces “nearly one-fifth of American electricity, more than the combined output from wind and solar.”
• Target 7.a: By 2030, enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology… and promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology. The article points to this by suggesting the U.S. can learn from “other advanced democracies” like Finland, Sweden, and Canada, which “offer credible lessons on how to address” nuclear waste management permanently.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

• Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure… to support economic development and human well-being. The article describes efforts to build and restart nuclear reactors (“Two new reactors opened in Georgia,” “Michigan plans to restart a shuttered reactor”) to ensure a reliable electricity supply for growing demand from “data centers and artificial intelligence use.”
• Target 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable… The expansion of nuclear power, a GHG-free source, at the expense of fossil fuels represents a move toward more sustainable energy industry infrastructure.

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

• Target 11.6: By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management. The article’s primary focus on the challenge of managing “high-level nuclear waste” and the debate over siting interim and permanent storage facilities directly addresses this target. The current situation of waste being “stored at individual reactor sites” is an unresolved waste management issue.

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

• Target 12.4: By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle… The entire discussion about the failure to create a permanent geological repository (Yucca Mountain) and the controversy over interim storage facilities is about the lack of “environmentally sound management” for the “roughly 90,000 metric tons” of existing high-level waste.
• Target 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse. This is referenced in the article’s mention of the administration’s “interest in revisiting the idea of recycling or reprocessing spent nuclear fuel,” which is a method to reduce the final volume of high-level waste.

SDG 13: Climate Action

• Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning. The article shows this integration through policies like the “2024 ADVANCE Act” and executive orders from both Biden and Trump administrations that “increase federal funding and regulatory support for industry expansion” of nuclear power, a key strategy for decarbonizing the electricity sector.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

• Target 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels. The article contrasts the “combative American political context” with Canada’s successful siting process, which involved “extensive public engagement efforts and formal declarations of support from both local government and tribal authorities,” highlighting the importance of this target. The opposition from Texas and New Mexico officials to hosting waste facilities further underscores the challenges in achieving consensus-based decision-making.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied

For SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy)

• Share of clean energy in the electricity mix: The article provides a direct indicator by stating nuclear power produces “nearly one-fifth of American electricity,” which is more than the “combined output from wind and solar at 16%.”
• Number of operational clean energy facilities: The article mentions “94 nuclear reactors operating on 54 plants,” with “two new reactors” recently opened and another planned for restart.

For SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production)

• Volume of hazardous waste generated and managed: The article specifies the amount of waste needing management, stating there are “roughly 90,000 metric tons” of high-level waste produced to date, with an additional “2,000 additional metric tons… produced annually.” This serves as a direct indicator of the scale of the waste management challenge.

For SDG 13 (Climate Action)

• Adoption of national policies for climate action: The article names specific policies like the “2024 ADVANCE Act” and “executive orders” as indicators of national strategies to promote GHG-free energy sources.

For SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions)

• Level of public and political consensus on major projects: The article implies this indicator by contrasting the “aggressive political and legal resistance” to the Yucca Mountain site in the U.S. with the Canadian model that achieved “formal declarations of support from both local government and tribal authorities” through a voluntary and participatory process. Shifting “public opinion” on nuclear power is also mentioned as a relevant measure.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs	Targets	Indicators Identified in the Article
SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy	7.2: Increase the share of renewable/clean energy. 7.a: Enhance international cooperation on clean energy technology.	– Share of electricity from nuclear power (“nearly one-fifth,” more than wind and solar at 16%). – Number of operational reactors (94) and new reactors (2 in Georgia). – Lessons from Finland, Sweden, and Canada on waste management.
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure	9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable infrastructure. 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure to make it sustainable.	– Development and deployment of “next-generation reactors.” – Investment in new and restarted nuclear plants to meet demand from data centers and AI.
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities	11.6: Reduce the adverse environmental impact of cities, focusing on waste management.	– Unresolved issue of permanent disposal for high-level nuclear waste. – Siting controversies for interim storage facilities in Texas and New Mexico.
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production	12.4: Achieve environmentally sound management of all wastes. 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation.	– Volume of accumulated waste (“roughly 90,000 metric tons”). – Annual waste generation rate (“2,000 additional metric tons… annually”). – Mention of “recycling or reprocessing spent nuclear fuel” as a waste reduction strategy.
SDG 13: Climate Action	13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies.	– Description of nuclear power as “free of greenhouse gas emissions.” – Mention of specific national policies promoting nuclear energy (e.g., “2024 ADVANCE Act”).
SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions	16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, and participatory decision-making.	– Legal challenges (“NRC v. Texas” Supreme Court case). – Contrast between the “combative” U.S. approach and Canada’s model of “extensive public engagement” and local consent.

Source: brookings.edu