Every economic development strategy needs an energy strategy.
Utah’s is Operation Gigawatt – a statewide plan to double generation and modernize transmission to accelerate energy abundance, with emphasis on next-generation nuclear and geothermal power.
“ It's just become so impossible to do the very things that made America the greatest country in the history of the world, but not here,” Gov. Spencer Cox said in his keynote.
“We work very closely together and in Utah, our mantra is built here. That's what we're doing. We're building again.”
That ambition is a major reason Valar Atomics is building its first nuclear test reactor in Utah at the state-owned San Rafael Energy Research Lab.
Valar CEO Isaiah Taylor explained the company’s site selection calculus:
“We’d been talking with states who have massive financial programs, but you can’t get the decision-makers all to sit down at the same conference table and make a decision.”
“We found this is something that happens naturally here. It almost feels like government is more like business, where you want to get things done and move quickly.”
Joel Ferry, executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, explained the intention of moving fast:
“Governor Cox says, ‘just because something takes longer, doesn’t mean it gets better’ – if we can make a decision, let’s make a decision and move on.”
Paving the way for the state’s agenda is a network of new groups linking energy abundance with critical minerals, industry, and housing.
🐝 Beehive Energy launched this year to push for new generation and private capital in Utah’s grid. The group is chaired by Joe Ross and has a board stacked with legislators and business leaders.
“We set up Beehive Energy almost as a heat shield,” Ross told us.
“We can take the heat from Rocky Mountain Power and other lobbyists, and still push through to create opportunities where we can generate power, create jobs, bring more people to Utah, and build more homes.”
⚡ Unleash Utah – also founded this year – advocates for energy abundance, critical minerals, manufacturing, and conservation.
“Out of 50 minerals listed as critical by the Department of the Interior, we have 40,” founder Andrew Sandstrom said in an interview.
“We have the only domestic source of beryllium and a lot of companies looking to do middle of the supply chain processing here to help compete with China.”
Permitting reform is a key priority:
“If you care about the environment, particularly if you care about climate change or emissions reductions or just pollution in general, you need to get new energy technologies up and running quickly.
“But we have a system that has become a very slow process, especially because of litigation, to actually getting them up and running. So we have to figure out how to reform that.”
Policy platforms like Operation Gigawatt + companies like Valar Atomics + stakeholder groups like Beehive Energy + Unleash Utah = a complete energy ecosystem aligned around speed, abundance, and industrial growth.
