Conference panel discusses Oregon’s decades-long nuclear energy ban

Published 11:00 am Wednesday, July 30, 2025

MISSION — Are policymakers ready to revisit Oregon’s decades-long effective ban on nuclear energy in the face of growing demand for carbon-free power? 

That question took center stage Friday, July 25, at a panel at the Eastern Oregon Economic Summit at Wildhorse Resort & Casino near Pendleton. The panel discussed the opportunities, challenges and next steps for the potential development of nuclear power in Eastern Oregon. With rising demand — thanks in part to data centers — and new clean energy mandates, panelists said interest in advanced nuclear technology is growing in a state that has not had a new nuclear power site for nearly 50 years. 

“I think it’s going to be very, very important that we understand” nuclear energy, Umatilla County Commissioner Dan Dorran said during the panel.

According to a recent forecast from the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, electricity demand in the Pacific Northwest could double in the next 20 years. 

A decades-long ban

Oregon has only had one commercial nuclear power plant. The PGE-owned Trojan Nuclear Power Plant, about 40 miles outside of Portland, operated from 1976 to 1993. 

In 1979, a partial meltdown of the reactor core occurred at Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Pennsylvania. The meltdown caused small radioactive releases, prompting new regulations and increased public concern about nuclear energy nationwide. 

In 1980 — following the aftermath of the Three Mile accident — Oregon voters narrowly passed Measure 7. According to the Oregon Department of Energy, the measure requires a permanent disposal facility for used nuclear fuel and a statewide vote before the construction of a nuclear project. 

However, ODOE officials said a permanent disposal facility does not exist in the U.S. As a result, the country’s roughly 90 nuclear plants store their used nuclear fuel on-site. 

Maxwell Woods, ODOE assistant director for Nuclear Safety and Energy Security, said it will take some time to establish a permanent disposal facility.

“I can tell you that many people are thinking about it and talking about it at the federal level,” Woods said during the panel. “But it’s not going to happen anytime soon.” 

Recent legislative action

Lawmakers in the recent state legislative session introduced bills to undo Oregon’s effective ban. 

One of those bills was House Bill 2410, which failed to make it out of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Ways and Means. It would have allowed Umatilla County to have a small modular reactor through certification with the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council. Instead of a statewide vote, the bill would have referred the final decision to Umatilla County voters.

Dorran told the East Oregonian in June that any nuclear waste would be stored onsite.

A Tipping Point? 

The panelists acknowledged the state is in a period of transition — not only in how it generates power but in how it evaluates nuclear energy, a previously off-limits energy option.

Greg Cullen, Energy Northwest vice president for Energy Services and Development, was one of the panelists. He said said the demand for clean and reliable electricity is accelerating quickly.

“If we want to make significant economic development, that usually means industrial development, and that means power in a lot of cases,” he said. “You’ve got to think about power, where it’s going to come from. If we do not have that power, which we don’t right now, they will not come.”

Cullen said nuclear power might be the cheaper option.

“A system that has some new nuclear added to the system and keeps the Columbia Generating Station operating could be $8 billion per year cheaper than a system that tries to meet all the needs with just wind, solar and energy storage,” Cullen said.

With no permanent disposal facility on the horizon, whether Umatilla County will have a new nuclear site anytime soon largely depends on state lawmakers’ willingness to change the rules in Measure 7.

The 2026 legislative session is the short session, lasting 35 days. It is unclear whether that will be sufficient time to implement any changes to Oregon’s nuclear rules.