Murkowski Espouses Nuclear Energy’s Potential Benefits for Alaska

Murkowski Espouses Nuclear Energy's Potential Benefits for Alaska

Washington, DC-Today, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) discussed the potential of nuclear energy to provide low-cost, reliable power to communities across Alaska with subject-matter experts before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (ENR). During the hearing, the senator spoke on the record with Theodore Garrish, Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and Dr. John Wagner, Director of Idaho National Laboratory (INL), about the potential deployment of microreactors at Fort Wainwright and Eielson Air Force Base, which are being considered by the Department of Defense as early proving grounds for advanced nuclear technology.

Senator Murkowski's exchange can be viewed here.

The rough transcript of Senator Murkowski's remarks can be found below.

Rough Transcript

Murkowski: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Welcome to the committee, gentlemen. Assistant Secretary Garrish, it's always good to see you.

You're familiar with much of the important legislation that has preceded today's hearing, where we've made meaningful progress in advancing nuclear opportunities. I led the Energy Act of 2020 and the Nuclear Energy Leadership Act (NELA), which established the High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) Availability Program and laid the groundwork for advanced reactor deployment. The Department of Energy has now made initial HALEU production awards-an important step.

From your perspective, what practical steps does the Department of Energy, working with Congress, need to take to build on that progress and ensure that fuel supply does not become a pacing challenge for deployment? I'm particularly interested in the opportunity to see a microreactor pilot at Eielson Air Force Base. What do we need to do to ensure that fuel supply is not the limiting factor?

Assistant Secretary Garrish: I believe the question of enrichment is one of the most important issues we face. Thanks to congressional action and appropriations, we've been able to begin that process. We are currently working through key enrichment milestones, and once those are completed over the next several months, we expect to begin building domestic enrichment facilities.

That progress will reduce-and potentially eliminate-our reliance on Russian imports, should that remain a long-term concern. In the meantime, we do have material reserves that could be allocated, and the Defense Production Act provides additional tools to ensure that no company is left without the uranium it needs.

I also want to touch briefly on microreactors. The work being done in Idaho by Dr. John Wagner and his team to authorize these systems is incredibly promising. These are ideal solutions for Alaska. What we need now are opportunities to demonstrate them there. For many remote communities, microreactors could be transformative-eliminating the need to transport diesel while providing reliable, long-term, and cost-effective power. That's where we should be focused.

Murkowski: I appreciate you raising that, because this is something we're looking at very closely-not only for national security purposes at our military installations, but also for our remote communities that currently rely on diesel. With diesel prices where they are, it's simply not sustainable.

Quite honestly, we shouldn't be powering communities with diesel generation in 2026. We're eager to move forward on this.

Dr. Wagner, let me follow up with you on that point, particularly as it relates to Alaska.

What does INL need right now in terms of capabilities-for testing, fuel qualification, and systems validation? It sounds like there's momentum within the Department on the fuel side. What do you need on the testing and demonstration side?

Dr. Wagner: First, thank you for the question-and for the strong partnership we've had with you and others in Alaska. That collaboration has been incredibly valuable in helping us understand the specific energy needs of remote communities, as well as installations like Eielson Air Force Base.

As we develop these technologies, we're doing so with those real-world applications in mind. We're not developing solutions in search of a problem-we're informed by actual needs.

In terms of capabilities, we already have a wide range of assets at the laboratory, including test beds and specialized facilities. However, much of this infrastructure is aging and currently operating at full capacity. We are stretching the limits of what we can do at a time when demand for testing-fuel testing under various conditions, reactor testing, recycling demonstrations-is rapidly increasing.

We face ongoing infrastructure challenges and would greatly benefit from additional resources to expand capacity.

One of our most pressing needs is fuel fabrication capability for initial reactor demonstrations. As you know, early-stage reactors often lack commercial fuel fabrication pathways. To address that gap, we are working to establish an Advanced Nuclear Fuel Fabrication Laboratory. That is our top priority.

Murkowski: I appreciate that. As we look at appropriations, it's critical that we ensure alignment-from the Department to our national labs-to support deployment on the ground, whether in Alaska or across the country.

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