Denver International Airport (DIA) has hit pause on its plan to study whether a small modular nuclear reactor could power its sprawling 34,000-acre campus, reports The Denver Gazette’s Scott Weiser and Luige del Puerto. The airport quietly issued, then delayed, a $1.25 million feasibility study RFP, citing the need for “community feedback” before diving into the nuclear option. The move comes as the airport braces for an expected 120 million passengers by 2045 and considers how to keep the lights on without being chained to the grid.
While Mayor Mike Johnston and other proponents see nuclear as the ticket to a self-powered, “greenest airport in the world” future, Councilmember Stacie Gilmore is clutching her “didn’t talk to the community” pearls. The delay is billed as a listening tour for residents near the airport – because nothing says “confidence in the future” like kicking the can down the road while China cranks out coal plants on the regular.
The Bullet Point Brief
- The RFP was issued, then delayed to conduct outreach and collect community input. Bureaucracy discovered the brakes.
- The study’s scope covers SMR types, cost and funding, risk, and regulatory terrain. Translation: a lot of homework before anyone pours concrete.
- Price tag up to 1.25 million dollars, timeline six to twelve months. Government speed, now with a calendar.
- Johnston pitches nuclear as clean, scalable, and a magnet for data‑hungry industry, aligning with a broader pro‑nuclear shift. Hope meets kilowatts.
- Gilmore wants answers on safety, property values, and water while Washington says the security and safety pieces must be addressed. Fair to ask, fair to verify.
My Bottom Line
One step forward, two steps back. The fear around nuclear is louder than the facts, and the American habit is to hold listening sessions until the lights flicker. My point stands: the future is energy, and you do not win that future by treating nuclear like a ghost story from a half-century-old Jane Fonda movie. Meanwhile, China keeps building what works for them, and we keep arguing about what sounds nice on a bumper sticker. If Denver wants a real shot at being the greenest airport, it needs a spine, a timeline, and a study that is allowed to be honest about tradeoffs.
