Holtec International is cancelling plans to build a consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) for used nuclear fuel in southeastern New Mexico. The HI-STORE CISF would have stored up to 10,000 canisters of commercial used fuel on land owned by the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance (ELEA) near the towns of Carlsbad and Hobbs.

Although the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) had licensed the proposed multibillion-dollar storage complex in 2023, the project has faced strong and persistent local opposition. New Mexico in 2023 adopted a bill barring the storage and disposal of high-level radioactive waste in New Mexico without the state’s explicit consent.

In March 2024, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals published a decision to “vacate” the licence following a similar ruling against another Interim Storage Partners’ licence to provide interim storage in Texas. In June this year, the Supreme Court ruled that the plaintiffs in the Texas case had no standing to challenge the NRC decision to provide a permit to Interim Storage Partners.

Despite the positive Supreme Court ruling, which would have seen Holtec’s licence reinstated, Holtec decided to pull out of the project. “After discussions with our longtime partner in the HI-STORE project, the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance, and due to the untenable path forward for used fuel storage in New Mexico, we mutually agreed upon cancelling the agreement. This allows for ELEA to work to redevelop the property in a manner that fits their needs and allows Holtec to work with other states who are amenable to used fuel storage based on the recent DOE work on public education and outreach,” Holtec said in a statement.

Local advocates and leaders who have long opposed the project welcomed the decision. “Holtec was trying to sell something that nobody would buy,” said Don Hancock, longtime advocate and director of the Nuclear Waste Safety Program at the Southwest Research and Information Center. He added that trying to convince cynical citizens that Holtec’s interim site would be temporary is near impossible, with no permanent solution on the horizon.

The planned site would have housed 500 canisters (8,680 tonnes) of used fuel for 40 years, according to the NRC licence, with Holtec planning to scale up to eventually store 10,000 canisters. Used fuel would be transported to the facility by rail from NPPs across the US.