A little-known startup with ambitions to reshape the nuclear energy landscape is pursuing an unprecedented project: placing hundreds of small nuclear reactors on federal land in Utah to power a sprawling data center complex. According to documents reviewed by NPR, Valar Atomics is proposing what it calls "Project Beehive," a facility that would rank among the most ambitious energy infrastructure undertakings ever attempted on public lands in the United States.
The proposal calls for situating the project on more than 9,000 acres administered by the Bureau of Land Management near Price, Utah. At the heart of the plan are 456 small nuclear reactors, which would collectively generate approximately 9.6 gigawatts of electrical power. For context, that figure exceeds the entire state of Utah's average electricity production of roughly 4 gigawatts—though the state's peak capacity during summer months can climb to around 10 gigawatts.
Beyond electricity generation, the reactors would produce even greater amounts of thermal heat for additional industrial uses, positioning the site as a multifaceted energy hub rather than a simple power plant. The project would also include facilities for manufacturing nuclear fuel and storing nuclear waste, according to the company's proposal to federal regulators.
The scale of the undertaking has few precedents. Nuclear power plants traditionally operate as individual units generating roughly one gigawatt each, meaning Project Beehive would effectively replicate a large fleet of reactors in a single location. The arrangement raises novel questions about regulatory oversight, safety protocols, and infrastructure requirements for clustering hundreds of reactors in one area.
Valar Atomics has also sought access to approximately 650 acres of state land as part of the same initiative, according to state records. The Salt Lake Tribune first reported last week on the project's use of state land, but the far larger proposed use of federal acreage had not been publicly disclosed until NPR's review of the documents.
The founder of Valar Atomics has publicly pledged to "make nuclear great again," signaling an intent to accelerate nuclear deployment at a time when the technology is drawing renewed interest from technology companies and policymakers seeking reliable, carbon-free power. Data centers, particularly those supporting artificial intelligence and cloud computing, have become voracious consumers of electricity, driving demand that renewable sources alone often cannot satisfy around the clock.
The project's timeline envisions non-nuclear construction beginning as soon as the end of this year, with the first reactors expected to come online sometime in 2028. That schedule is aggressive by conventional nuclear industry standards, where reactor development typically spans a decade or more from conception to operation.
The proposal has already generated unease among local activists, who say they are contending with a growing wave of data center projects across Utah. Concerns center on land use, water consumption, environmental impact, and the unprecedented nature of siting hundreds of reactors on public acreage. Federal lands are held in trust for the public, and large-scale industrial development on them frequently triggers debate over appropriate use and long-term consequences.
The involvement of the Bureau of Land Management adds a layer of complexity, since the agency must weigh energy development against conservation, recreational, and other public land priorities. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission would also play a central role in licensing any reactors, though the proposal outlines a configuration unlike anything the agency has previously evaluated.
Small nuclear reactors, often called microreactors, have attracted significant investment in recent years as a potential solution for powering remote locations or industrial facilities. Their smaller size theoretically allows for factory manufacturing and faster deployment, but commercial viability at the scale envisioned by Project Beehive remains untested.
Waste storage at the site would address one of nuclear power's most persistent challenges, though it also raises questions about long-term stewardship and whether concentrated storage on federal land aligns with existing national policies. Nuclear fuel production on-site would similarly represent a major expansion of the domestic nuclear supply chain.
The project reflects a broader trend of private companies seeking to pair energy generation directly with data center operations, bypassing traditional utility arrangements. Such vertical integration could offer reliability and cost advantages, but it also places significant responsibility on a single company for managing complex, potentially hazardous technology.
For Utah, the proposal presents both economic opportunity and significant risk. Supporters may point to job creation, tax revenue, and energy independence, while opponents will likely emphasize environmental hazards, strain on local resources, and the difficulty of reversing course once construction begins. The coming months will determine whether Project Beehive advances through regulatory review or faces the kind of sustained opposition that has stalled other large-scale energy projects on public lands.
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