Rep. Mike Levin Applauds Selection of Potential Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses
DOE Selects Five States for Future Nuclear Waste Depository Sites; Initiative Is Supported by $248 Million Secured by Rep. Levin
Washington, D.C.—Today, Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49) applauded the Department of Energy’s (DOE) announcement of five states to serve as potential sites for Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses. The Innovation Campuses are intended to house solutions for the nation’s nuclear waste challenges by supporting activities across the full nuclear fuel cycle, including fuel fabrication, enrichment, reprocessing used nuclear fuel, and disposal of used nuclear fuel.
Five states—Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Idaho—signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with DOE to begin exploring how to officially become host sites for Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses. Once these Innovation Campuses are in full operation as envisioned, they will accept spent nuclear fuel from decommissioned nuclear plants like the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS).
Watch Rep. Levin’s video on the announcement here.
Rep. Levin’s statement on the announcement below:
“Today’s announcement of potential sites for Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses has been years in the making. It required tremendous bipartisan efforts where policymakers put aside politics and focused on a fix to our difficult nuclear waste challenges. Since my first day in Congress, I’ve prioritized finding solutions to safely remove and dispose of spent nuclear fuel, and today’s selection of states is a monumental step in the right direction. For years I have said that our actions must be based in collaboration with states and local communities, and for the first time in decades, states are raising their hands.
“But there is more work to be done. The hard part is still ahead of us. The federal government has a bad track record on nuclear waste and has not kept its promises to communities for many decades. As we know well, DOE was required by law to start picking up the waste from nuclear power plants like SONGS in 1998, but has fallen woefully behind. DOE must now be consistent, transparent, and honest with states as it completes the selection process for the Innovation Campuses and sets them up for success year after year, and administration after administration.
“I cannot underscore strongly enough that the Innovation Campuses must have solutions for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel if we are to be successful in this endeavor. Any development of new nuclear energy hinges on our country having a workable answer to the spent nuclear fuel challenge.
“Congress must now work in a bipartisan, bicameral fashion to authorize the Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses and write them into law with clear oversight, clear benchmarks, and clear connections to permanent disposal. This will ensure true accountability and real solutions. I will continue to work with the Administration and my congressional colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get this done.”
Since entering Congress in 2019, Rep. Levin has secured over $248 million for the safe removal and management of the nation’s spent nuclear fuel. In January 2026, he wrote to DOE Secretary Chris Wright urging the Department to establish a safe, effective, and long-term management program for spent nuclear fuel. Rep. Levin has also introduced the bipartisan Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2024, which would modernize our country’s nuclear waste management program by establishing an independent Nuclear Waste Administration to manage the country’s nuclear waste. The safe management and removal of spent nuclear fuel out of SONGS and other decommission nuclear plants across the country remains a top priority for Rep. Levin.
Background on DOE’s Announcement of Potential Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the selection of Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Idaho as potential host states for Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses, a new effort to strengthen and modernize the nation’s full nuclear fuel cycle. The campuses will attract significant investment, expand domestic manufacturing, and create thousands of new high-paying jobs in their respective regions.
The proposed campuses are designed to support activities across the full nuclear fuel lifecycle, including fuel fabrication, enrichment, reprocessing used nuclear fuel, and final disposition of used nuclear fuel. Depending on state priorities and regional capabilities, the campuses may also host advanced reactor deployment, power generation, advanced manufacturing, and co located data centers.
The proposed innovation campuses have the potential to attract up to $50 billion in capital investment, generate as much as $10 billion in state and local tax revenue, and create nearly 25,000 jobs with an establishment of a campus.
Earlier this year, DOE invited states to submit clear statements of interest and constructive feedback on the structure of the Innovation Campuses. In their submissions, states outlined how a campus would advance goals such as workforce development, infrastructure investment, economic diversification, or technology leadership and described the scope of activities they envision hosting. States submitted responses by April 1, 2026.
States that choose to pursue hosting an innovation campus will sign hosting agreements with the Department at a later date.
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