Carbon County planners in Utah approved a permit for Valar Atomics to build between 40 and 120 small nuclear reactors alongside data centers on 640 acres near Wellington. The Raceway Energy Campus still needs Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing before construction, and the permit expires if no substantial work happens within a year. The plan also includes a natural gas plant that would run until reactors are online, then serve as backup or peak power. Valar already operates a test reactor that went critical in June and is seeking federal approval for a larger 456-reactor project called Project Beehive on nearby BLM land. Nearly 200 residents attended the meeting, and some had petitioned for a moratorium on big energy projects. The approval is an early step, not a construction green light, with regulatory, water, and grid interconnection questions still open.
