The Supreme Court rejected Monday a pair of energy cases that had asked the justices to overturn authorization of a nuclear waste storage facility and reverse a ruling that an electric utility engaged in anti-competitive practices.
In a long list of orders, the justices rebuffed a petition from an anti-nuclear group that had asked the court to address how the nation should temporarily store spent nuclear fuel in the absence of a permanent waste repository.
Beyond Nuclear’s challenge focused on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s 2020 approval of a conditional license for Holtec International’s planned above-ground facility in southeastern New Mexico. Once completed, the project is slated to store up to 173,600 metric tons of privately and federally owned spent nuclear fuel.
The facility is part of an interim storage solution after the failure of plans to stash spent nuclear fuel in Nevada’s Yucca Mountain.
