Delaware Nuclear Energy Feasibility Task Force

Monday, February 9, 2026·2h 52m·▶ Watch / Listen

The Delaware Nuclear Energy Feasibility Task Force heard presentations on the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle, small modular reactor technology, and grid reliability arguments for nuclear energy, while the Joint Finance Committee separately conducted budget orientations for the Fire Prevention Commission, DelDOT, and DHSS — revealing hundreds of millions in unfunded agency requests against a multi-hundred-million-dollar projected deficit.

Key Actions

·SCR18 Task Force – Back End of Nuclear Fuel Cycle (Martin presentation)No Vote

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Controversies

Reliance on future nuclear waste technology vs. present reality

Representative Burns argued the task force must focus on what exists 'here and now' and not assume pyroprocessing or fusion advances will solve waste storage problems, calling such reliance potentially 'a ridiculous thing.' An unnamed task force member disagreed explicitly — 'the science is solid, people working on it. Los Alamos and Argonne Labs are working on it. Private companies are working on it because they've assessed the risk and think it's marketable' — while a third unnamed member sided with Burns: 'you cannot bank on the unknown.'

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Notable Quotes

“The material that comes out of the nuclear facility is going to be stored on site. Probably. There's no guarantee. Based on the history that I've just presented to you and based on the information that I've been able to gather over the years, I suspect it would be placed on site. If it is placed on site, that means that the utility will be managing it. It will be under the control of DOE even after the facility is decommissioned because the waste is not decommissioned, it still sits there, just like Salem.”
Martin (nuclear presenter) — Martin was summarizing the most likely outcome for spent nuclear fuel from any SMR built in Delaware, explaining that the absence of a functioning federal repository means on-site storage is the probable long-term reality.

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TranscriptPreview

Members, please take your seats. On today's agenda, we will start with orientation for fire. That includes the fire school, the Fire Prevention Commission, as well as the fire marshal. Then we will have orientation for del.del. will be heard after lunch and then after the del. Hearing. Before we break for the day, we will do the orientation for dhss. No, we're going to do the orientation for DHSS this morning as well, just after Fire or Delta and we'll do DHSS orientation. Okay, let me, let me restate that. We will actually do the orientation for DHSS after we complete the orientation for DEL dot. And just as a reminder to everyone here today and anyone who is tuning in, the Joint Finance Committee will be meeting on Monday beginning at 9am so with that, Mr. Smith, please kick off the orientation starting with fire. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So we will be under tab 75. 00 in your binders for the Fire Prevention Commission. The Fire Prevention Commission is made up of the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the Delaware State Fire, the State Fire Commission for fiscal year 2026. The base budget contains 28.5 ASFF…

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