As Utah ramps up efforts to fast-track nuclear energy production, Gov. Spencer Cox’s administration is putting $1.8 million toward a campaign to convince Utahns it’s the right idea.
Amid a so far lukewarm reception for nuclear energy efforts, and ahead of announcing partnerships with multiple nuclear startups, the Utah Office of Energy Development began looking for a public relations firm in May to launch a “Nuclear Education and Public Support” campaign, according to a request for proposals on a public procurement website.
“This effort aligns with our goals of energy security, independence, resilience and sustainability,” Tracy Rees, public information officer for the Utah Office of Energy Development, wrote in an email Monday. “Deploying nuclear technologies is a long process, so early engagement is critical. This campaign will engage local communities and help identify those who might be interested in nuclear energy.”
The application window closed last month. Rees said the office is currently reviewing proposals.
Lasting up to 1 ½ years, the website said the winning entity will “provide a marketing and communications campaign that will educate the public, policymakers, and stakeholders about nuclear energy and the role it could play in Utah’s future energy mix.”
Earlier this year, lawmakers set aside $10 million for “Operation Gigawatt” — a plan Cox announced last fall to double Utah’s energy production in the next decade. Rees said the nuclear energy public relations campaign is funded as part of “Operation Gigawatt.”
The consequences of nuclear weapons testing and uranium mining still haunt Utah.
In a poll conducted by HarrisX for the Deseret News and the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute of Politics earlier this year, just under half of the respondents indicated they would support Utah’s plans to build small nuclear reactors. The remainder were split between “don’t know,” “strongly oppose” and “somewhat oppose,” in that order.
Tens of thousands of Utahns in the southwestern part of the state were exposed to radioactive fallout as a result of nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s and 1960s, and many developed cancer and other illnesses.
The southeastern portion of the state is still a hub for uranium mining, and Utah is home to the country’s last conventional uranium mill. That mill, near Blanding, processes uranium ore into a substance commonly called yellowcake, which is then sent to other facilities for processing into nuclear fuel.
Per a document outlining the scope of work for the awardee, the campaign will have multiple focuses, including convincing the public “Why nuclear energy is a valuable and necessary resource and makes sense today and tomorrow,” and “How nuclear energy can help Utah meet its economic and environmental goals.”
The public campaign is also expected to clarify for Utahns the differences between nuclear energy and nuclear weapons.
Ahead of the efforts, the state will survey both “one rural area that could potentially host a nuclear plant” and “an urban area with high population density” to identify where the highest numbers of people have nuclear-related concerns. And, through polls, the contractor is later expected to demonstrate whether their work has “increased public support” and knowledge of nuclear energy.
No matter the firm selected, ads running online, on TV, on the radio and elsewhere will likely feature Cox’s face and voice: The posting volunteered the governor as “a key spokesperson.”
Cox’s office did not answer a request for comment on the campaign, including questions about the extent to which the governor’s office is involved and why it focuses exclusively on nuclear energy.
All 29 counties in Utah will see in-person “educational events” open to the public, according to the posting. But the effort also includes plans for private gatherings of “energy industry stakeholders, potential investors, and companies pursuing or developing nuclear resources, community leaders and organizations” to “address concerns and identify mutual interests and opportunities.”
“The disappointing piece is this is not an opportunity for public engagement,” said Danielle Endres, a communication professor at the University of Utah who studies the rhetoric around energy transitions and nuclear waste disposal decisions, after reviewing the request for proposals.
“It’s an explicit effort to educate people and increase public support for nuclear energy,” she continued, “which, of course, assumes that nuclear energy is a good and right energy solution for Utah. And I think that there’s legitimate room for debate as to whether or not it is the right energy source for Utah, but a PR campaign that’s goal is to increase public support kind of curtails the ability to continue to have those discussions.”
Endres, who was speaking for herself, also sits on the state’s Hazardous Waste and Radiation Control Board.
Rees wrote that the Office of Energy Development “has a legislative mandate to engage in educational efforts.”
The office’s website includes resources for both K-12 educators and the general public, she added. “This new campaign will build on those resources and ensure we engage in two-way conversations with communities across Utah.”
The state’s energy office, complying with Operation Gigawatt, is laying the groundwork for bringing advanced nuclear reactors to Utah.
The state has signed at least four memorandums of understanding with nuclear companies this year. One partnership, with California nuclear startup Valar Atomics, could bring a small modular reactor to the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab located in Emery County by next year. The agreement allows for the possibility of the company fabricating nuclear fuel in the state, too.
The state has also partnered with NuCube Energy, a company headquartered in Idaho Falls, to potentially bring another small reactor to that site. Another agreement states that Washington state-based Hi Tech Solutions LLC and Florida-based Holtec International will build facilities for assembling small modular reactors in Utah by 2028 and eventually deploy such a reactor in the state.
The Utah Office for Energy Development did not respond to a request for comment about the nuclear energy public relations campaign, nor to questions about the “data, information, subject matter experts and other materials” the posting said the office would provide for the campaign.
This incoming campaign is not the first time the state has worked to sway public opinion using taxpayer dollars.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported in November that Utah had budgeted over $2.6 million for a public relations campaign supporting its failed Supreme Court attack on federal ownership of 18.5 million acres of Bureau of Land Management land in the state.
The state, working with public relations firm Penna Powers, spent money on a website, podcasts, billboards, advertisements and op-eds to convince Utahns and Washington D.C. residents that the Bureau of Land Management is “harming Utahns by restricting access to public lands, hindering active management, and reducing economic and recreation opportunities.”
Recent reporting from Public Domain and High Country News found that the state and Penna Powers used actors and artificial intelligence in creating the material for that campaign.
Note to readers • This story is available to Salt Lake Tribune subscribers only. Thank you for supporting local journalism.