New Mexico representatives tour Minnesota nuclear plant seeking storage site

Jay Jenkins, president of the Carlsbad Department of Development, toured the Xcel Energy Monticello Nuclear Power Plant in Minneapolis, Minnesota, last week with New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez and the New Mexico Amigos, a nonprofit corporation that serves as goodwill ambassadors for the state.

The visit was one leg of a weeklong national tour for the group of businessmen and politicians, who were able to meet and speak with Xcel Energy CEO Ben Fowke III. Interestingly, the Monticello tour came just after the Eddy Lea Alliance, led by nuclear advocate John Heaton, announced that it had agreed to create a temporary storage site for spent nuclear fuel in southeast New Mexico, in partnership with Holtec International.

"The trip couldn't have come at a better time," Jenkins said. "For a layperson like myself regarding nuclear, it is one thing to talk about the need and another to see firsthand the spent nuclear fuel storage on site at the Monticello plant. They are crowded for room and having to try and expand their storage area. It was clear that they need offsite storage sooner rather than later."