California-based energy company planning underground nuclear reactor in Utah
This story raises questions about governance, accountability, and American values.
The coverage treats Deep Fission’s underground reactor plan like a novelty story: a clever California startup bringing innovation to wide-open Utah. That framing skips the first question Utahns will ask, which is who carries the risk if the experiment goes sideways. Small modular reactors may help, especially where grids are strained and reliability matters.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
California-based energy company Deep Fission in September announced Utah, Texas and Kansas as the first three planned sites for testing of its small modular pressurized water reactors.
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
The coverage treats Deep Fission’s underground reactor plan like a novelty story: a clever California startup bringing innovation to wide-open Utah. That framing skips the first question Utahns will ask, which is who carries the risk if the experiment goes sideways.
Small modular reactors may help, especially where grids are strained and reliability matters. But energy independence is not the same as “move fast and drill deep.” If California companies want to build in red states, they should accept local control in siting, emergency planning, water use, and long-term waste accountability.
This is also a test of public trust. Nuclear works when oversight is rigorous and transparent, not when communities feel managed. Rule of law and institutional stability are what make advanced energy worth deploying in the first place.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.