Nuclear energy emerges as star of Gov. Cox’s Operation Gigawatt Summit

Originally published June 1, 2026.

Utah’s “all-of-the-above” approach to the mushrooming nationwide demand for energy will most certainly include nuclear generation. 

At least that’s the message coming out of Gov. Spencer Cox’s one-day “working session” with energy stakeholders, federal and state officials and representatives from the Trump administration. The governor’s Operation Gigawatt Summit took place May 22 at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley in Park City.

It’s no secret that Cox has long been a fan of “clean” energy sources like nuclear power, but his summit in Park City made a decisive turn in that direction. While there were discussions about geothermal power, critical minerals and assuring a viable electric grid, the focus skewed heavily toward nuclear power. 

Addressing reporters at the conclusion of the confab, Cox repeated his insistence that Utah is looking at all forms of energy, but that nuclear generation must be part of the conversation.

“If we truly want to de-carbonize, if we truly want cleaner energy, more prosperous energy, dispatchable energy, reliable energy and cheaper energy, then nuclear has to be part of that mix,” Cox said.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright headlined a who’s-who list of attendees. Also present were EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin; Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Ho K. Nieh; White House Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios; and Vivek Ramaswamy, former presidential candidate and current candidate for governor of Ohio, who keynoted the event’s luncheon.

Also participating were a slate of Utah legislators; officials from several state agencies, including the Office of Energy Development; and corporate leaders of several companies involved in the energy industry.

Speaking to the large crowd in the summit’s general session, Wright endorsed Utah’s nation-leading energy efforts, including the state’s nuclear ambitions. 

“What’s the way to drive down electricity prices and bring jobs to Utah? It’s to bring more energy to Utah,” he said.

The Cox administration is openly encouraging small-scale modular nuclear reactor development, with test sites actively experimenting with the technology. In his speech at the summit, Wright told attendees that Valar Atomics was close to achieving “criticality” with its small modular reactor experiment at Utah’s San Rafael laboratory at Orangeville in Emery County. President Donald Trump has set a July 4 deadline for small nuclear reactor developers to demonstrate if their experiments are working.

Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz told the summit audience that Utah is leading the nation in energy policy, including passing bills — like SB132 from the most recent legislative session — that address energy’s real bottleneck, distributing the power once it’s generated.

“Our legislation was passed and done, and other states are playing catch-up to us now,” Schultz said. “We started talking about these things two to three years before everybody else did.”

“Right now, everybody’s just focused on the power generation,” Schultz said, “but you have to think, how do you actually distribute that power once it happens?” He credits SB132, in part, with beginning to address such problems.

At the conclusion of the day-long affair, Cox introduced an agreement he touted as a pathway to “ensure Utah remains a leader in building the infrastructure and resources.”

Cox and White House Permitting Council Executive Director Emily Domenech signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the state of Utah and the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council to better coordinate state and federal permitting efforts and advance critical infrastructure and energy projects in Utah.

Much of the discussion at the event centered on accelerating permitting reform and expediting the advance of long-term energy affordability and abundance.

The MOU commits Utah to aligning state permitting timelines with federal environmental review timelines for eligible “FAST-41” projects, improving transparency and coordination while helping avoid unnecessary delays for critical infrastructure projects.

FAST-41 refers to Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2015. It is a federal program designed to streamline, coordinate and publicly track environmental reviews and authorizations for large or complex infrastructure projects like renewable energy, mining and broadband. 

“I am thrilled to announce our partnership with Gov. Cox and the state of Utah,” said Domenech. “By aligning state and federal permitting timelines, Utah is establishing a more efficient and transparent permitting process that will drive investment to the state, speed energy and natural resources development, and advance President Trump’s infrastructure and energy dominance agenda.”

“Utah has built a reputation for efficient government and responsible development. This agreement will help create a more transparent, accountable and predictable permitting process that supports energy production, strengthens domestic supply chains and helps ensure Utah remains a leader in building the infrastructure and resources America needs.”

“Utah has built a reputation for efficient government and responsible development,” said Cox. “This agreement will help create a more transparent, accountable and predictable permitting process that supports energy production, strengthens domestic supply chains and helps ensure Utah remains a leader in building the infrastructure and resources America needs.”

The agreement establishes a framework for Utah and the Permitting Council to work together to identify priority projects, coordinate permitting reviews across agencies, and improve transparency through the FAST-41 process.

Under the agreement, the Permitting Council will support Utah by helping identify eligible FAST-41 projects, coordinating federal agencies, supporting streamlined reviews and exploring opportunities to improve state permitting systems and technologies.

The MOU highlights that Utah has deposits of 50 of the 60 federally listed critical minerals and notes the importance of efficient permitting processes to support reliable domestic supply chains and responsible resource development.

Energy development and security — especially nuclear energy — seemed to carry the day as the Cox hosted the high-level gathering. And Utah seems to be in lockstep with Washington on these issues.

“Utah’s policies, the leadership, the philosophies, just perfectly align with President Trump’s energy agenda,” Wright said at the conclusion of his address. “Utah is going to be key in the future of nuclear energy.”