Utah-based energy infrastructure development company Fulcrum Point Holdings, a Hi Tech Solutions (HTS) Affiliate, has announced a joint venture with energy infrastructure development company Blue Castle to advance the existing Blue Castle nuclear project in Green River, Utah. The project advances Utah’s Operation Gigawatt goals, builds on a previous announcement of a nuclear ecosystem in Brigham City, and includes planned SMR technology from Holtec International.
The Green River Advanced Nuclear Project is a long-contested commercial nuclear power plant initiative located five miles west-northwest of Green River in Emery County, Utah. Originally known as the Blue Castle Project, the effort has evolved over nearly two decades from a massive gigawatt-scale design into an advanced small modular reactor (SMR) concept.
The project was launched in 2007 by Transition Power Development, which consolidated management into Blue Castle Holdings in 2009. The original plan proposed a multi-billion-dollar traditional plant utilising two Westinghouse AP1000 pressurised water reactors (PWRs) to generate roughly 3,000 MWe of power. To cool the reactors, the developer sought to lease 53,500 acre-feet of water annually from the over-allocated Green River – a major tributary of the Colorado River. Environmental coalitions immediately sued to halt the transfer, citing threats to local wildlife, river flow, and regional water supply. In July 2016, the Utah Appeals Court ultimately upheld the state engineer’s approval, ruling in favour of the developer.
Despite securing water rights, the project stalled due to soaring capital costs for large-scale nuclear plants and a lack of active engagement with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The initiative remained dormant for years, with critics arguing the project lacked viability.
The project was revived in May 2026 under Utah’s “Operation Gigawatt” clean energy initiative. It was restructured to swap out legacy PWRs for Holtec’s 300 MW small modular reactors (SMRs). While the reactor technology has changed completely, the project still makes use of 19 years of foundational groundwork completed by Blue Castle Holdings.
Extensive environmental, seismic, meteorological, and groundwater monitoring data have already been collected at the Emery County site. This includes direct access to the Union Pacific railway network, nearby Interstate 70, and multi-market high-voltage transmission pathways. Retaining the legally protected water assets from the previous layout ensures backup cooling resources, although Holtec’s design shifts primary cooling to an Air-Cooled Condenser system to circumvent regional desert scarcity.
“Fulcrum Point is stepping into this project as a true development partner to help move the Blue Castle Project from years of groundwork into the next phase of execution,” said Chris Hayter, Founder of Fulcrum Point and Chief Operations Officer of Hi Tech Solutions. “Blue Castle has done important work to position this site for success, and we now bring the technical, operational, and project development capabilities needed to help advance it through licensing, deployment planning, and eventual construction. This project has the potential to strengthen Utah’s energy future, support rural economic growth, and deliver reliable power for decades to come.”
Aaron Tilton, CEO of Blue Castle Holdings, said: “Blue Castle’s focus from the beginning has been to create exactly this kind of opportunity with a company like Fulcrum Point. Over the past 19 years, Blue Castle has laid the groundwork to de-risk a site for the deployment of nuclear power, creating significant value for future energy development that can serve energy demand across Utah and the surrounding region, as well as potential on-site, behind-the-meter opportunities for advanced technology applications. We appreciate the collaborative effort with Emery County and the City of Green River to create high-value jobs and meaningful economic impact in rural Utah.”
Utah is positioning itself as a national leader in advanced energy development, grid reliability, and next-generation nuclear deployment. “Utah is building an energy future that is reliable, innovative, clean and secure through Operation Gigawatt,” said Emy Lesofksi, Energy Advisor to the Governor and Director of the Utah Office of Energy Development. “Partnerships with innovators like Holtec International and Hi Tech Solutions are helping us achieve that future and seeing communities like Green River help secure Utah’s legacy of energy abundance.”
Fulcrum Point will work with Blue Castle to move the project from its current stage through the federal licensing process and toward reactor deployment, with SMR technology and equipment to be provided by Holtec International.
The Holtec SMR-300 offers a unique optional Air-Cooled Condenser (ACC) system, enabling operation in arid environments like Utah, where water resources are scarce. This flexibility means SMR-300 can effectively operate in desert climates, providing a reliable and environmentally responsible energy source.
Dr. Rick Springman, President of Holtec International noted: “With Holtec’s restart of Palisades Nuclear plant in Michigan ongoing, and the first Holtec SMR-300s, Pioneer 1 & 2, in the NRC licensing process and early site preparation, the work by our partners to acquire sites for next-of-kind deployment in Utah is paramount to our Mountain West expansion strategy as part of Operation Gigawatt. Supply chain development follows reactor deployments, making the advancement of this project crucial to downstream supply chain investments in the state across the nuclear ecosystem.”
The project will progress through federal licensing and toward reactor deployment, under an exclusive arrangement with Holtec to supply the SMR-300 advanced nuclear power plant. Hyundai E&C, Holtec’s global construction partner, will join the project with Holtec following closure of key project development milestones and associated funding arrangements. Holtec is also supporting Fulcrum’s Brigham City project under development in Utah, setting up the framework for a potential SMR-300 fleet deployment across the state.
Environmental groups have raised concerns about the project including costs to taxpayers, whether the technologies being advanced are reliable and proven, as well as the impacts on communities. The Healthy Environment Alliance (HEAL) of Utah, which sued Blue Castle over its earlier project, said its concerns remain about impacts to the Colorado River watershed.
“Any sort of accident, spill, or even the routine release of radioactive materials at the site just a few miles from the Green River, a major tributary of the Colorado, could also impact the hundreds of millions of people living downstream who rely on this increasingly scarce water,” HEAL Utah said in a statement.
“Utah is being asked to become a testing ground for a project likely to require significant taxpayer dollars that would be better spent protecting our air, water, and communities. We continue to see this trend in Utah where large industry projects are being approved and promoted before the public has any input, and before any potential impacts have been analysed. If this project fails, Utahns could be left with another radioactive site and another costly cleanup effort akin to we’ve seen in Moab,” HEAL Utah said.
HEAL Utah is warning against a repeat of the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project. This refers to a decades-long, multi-billion-dollar federal cleanup triggered by a bankrupt private corporation leaving 16m tonnes of radioactive waste directly next to a vital public water source in the 1980s.
Because the massive toxic pile was unlined, rainwater and shifting groundwater leached heavy contaminants into the surrounding environment Recognising the severe regional threat, the federal government was forced to step in. In 2001, the US Department of Energy (DOE) officially took over responsibility for the site
Beginning in 2009, the DOE began a massive logistical project to dig up the radioactive mud, pack it into sealed steel containers, and ship it via specialised trains 30 miles north to an engineered, lined disposal cell. It took nearly two decades of continuous train shipments to completely clear the main surface pile. Though the mountain of waste is gone, the project is still not fully complete. Active groundwater pumping and decontamination of the “sub-pile” soils beneath the site are projected to continue until at least 2029.
