Consent-Based Siting

Source: U.S. Department of Energy.
Consent-based siting consortia members and areas of engagement.

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded Good Energy and our partner, the University of Notre Dame, $1.7 million to help understand community needs in the siting of future nuclear waste facilities. Over the next two years, in several communities around the country, we’ll convene community-led conversations to understand the benefits and challenges of hosting one or more consolidated interim storage facilities.

While the Yucca Mountain deep geological repository is still codified into the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, the project is widely seen as unworkable due to poor community support and extensive pushback from states. In a 2012 report commissioned by the Obama Administration, experts laid out the next steps for nuclear waste management in the U.S., concluding that a community-focused, “consent-based” process was necessary to ensure lasting support for the facility. In FY21, Congress appropriated funding for DOE to research and develop this process, after which funding was announced for organizations to conduct community-focused research into what this process may look like.

Good Energy was among 12 awardees for this program. To find out more about our project, click the links below or reach out to cbs@goodenergycollective.org.