Open Dialogue Key to Local Support in Nuclear Projects

Open dialogue is key to earning the support of local communities to host nuclear power projects, ranging from power reactors to research laboratories and deep geological repositories for spent fuel, a side event at the IAEA’s General Conference heard.

“Host communities are a key protagonist in the nuclear story,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, who delivered opening remarks at the event. “We want to highlight their role in energy transitions and the strong support for the facilities they host. We need even broader local backing – the world needs more ‘yes in my backyard’ for nuclear to thrive.”

The IAEA will also host the first International Conference on Stakeholder Engagement for Nuclear Power Programmes from 26 to 30 May 2025 at its headquarters in Vienna. The conference will bring together a wide range of participants including policymakers, regulators, communication experts, technical support organizations, waste management organizations, community representatives, industry leaders, academic researchers, NGOs and international organizations.

At the General Conference side event speakers from Argentina, Canada, Hungary, Japan and the United States of America considered the challenges and opportunities presented to nuclear facility host communities and highlighted success stories and lessons learned. Participants heard how the success of large infrastructure projects typically relies on social licence and nuclear power projects are no exception. Open dialogue among all stakeholders is vital, especially with host communities, and can help keep projects on time and budget while addressing local concerns.

The recording of the event can be viewed here.

Panellists provided examples illustrating how proactive, cooperative engagement between community members, government bodies and implementing organizations led to positive outcomes and laid the foundation for long-term success.

The town of Ignace in Canada recently confirmed its willingness to host a deep geological repository (DGR) for Canada’s spent nuclear fuel. This expression of interest came after a long process emphasizing dialogue and providing resources for the community to learn what hosting a repository would involve.

“In 2010, our mayor and council brought Ignace forth as one of 22 communities potentially interested in a DGR. We want our community to prosper and thrive, but we also had some concerns about safety, and it was clear that Ignace wanted to have a strong voice in the process,” said Chantal Moore, a resident committee member in Ignace’s Willingness Ad Hoc Committee, which was established to determine residents’ willingness to move forward with hosting. Canada’s National Waste Management Organization (NWMO) and the municipality worked with the community to provide information about what the project would entail and a local committee was established to engage the community in learning about the process.

“After 14 years, we are one of the two communities in Canada being considered for a DGR, and 77% of the community members who participated in the voting process has voted in favour of the project.”

Ongoing discussions with NWMO have been an important component of successful engagement. “We have a large geography, very good geology. And it was key for this to be a voluntary process,” said Isaac Werner, Senior Advisor for Government Relations at NWMO. “We have very clearly stated that we will not move forward with our project without willing and informed host communities. We plan to announce our preferred location by the end of this year.”

Mayor Rebecca Casper of Idaho Falls, the city which hosts the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Idaho National Laboratory (INL), said local engagement is essential. INL is a major nuclear energy research laboratory that has hosted numerous demonstration reactors and is set to act as the testing ground for several advanced reactors in the near future. “Mayors tend to consider themselves partners,” Casper said. “Unlike the many other players who will be a part of a project, only the local community will be around for the entire 100 year relationship.”

Host communities and nuclear operators often share a common goal and work together to achieve it, explained Csaba Dohoczki, Vice President of the Group of European Municipalities with Nuclear Facilities. “In Hungary, for example, municipalities across the river from the Paks Nuclear Power Plant identified the need to have easier access to the site. They worked together with the operator and government, and opened a bridge last March, connecting the two sides of the river and providing more access to jobs for the community and a larger offer of services to the operator and the new nuclear project Paks II.”

Disruption caused by construction is often one of the top concerns of the host communities, as well as the challenge of developing the community infrastructure fast enough to meet the needs of a growing economy. “Zarate municipality and its town of Lima are proud to host nuclear power reactors,” said Marcelo Matzkin, Mayor of Zarate municipality in Argentina, site of Atucha nuclear power plant and a small modular reactor under construction. “Lima grew together with the nuclear projects – it used to be a town, now it is a city. The nuclear power plant brought jobs, good salaries and new shops, but the challenge is to provide adequate infrastructure to this growing city and we are working with the operator of the plant to find solutions.”

Masahiro Sakurai, Mayor of Kashiwazaki, home to Japan’s largest nuclear power plant, added: “There are many positive sides of hosting nuclear power plant, such as supporting the country’s economic growth and local employment. However, sometimes there are divisions within the community in terms of support and this has to be discussed. While safety reviews are crucial for the restart of reactors that were shut down after the Fukushima Daiichi accident, it is the local community that must consent to the restart.”

The relationship between the national government and municipalities with nuclear facilities extends beyond nuclear operation. “Our priority is to have a regular dialogue with the municipalities and provide various forms of support tailored to their needs,” said Masahiro Yagi, Special Research Officer in the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. “For example, after the shutdown of nuclear power plants, we supported the diversification of the industrial structure in Hokkaido through using locally grown rice to produce high-value bioplastics, in order to increase the impact of agriculture and the number of people involved in agriculture,” he added.

A community’s reaction to the idea of hosting a nuclear facility often depends on the type of facility. “The local communities are proud of our nuclear power plants, but if we go the other way in terms of establishing a DGR, there could be a lot of opposition,” said German Guido Lavalle, President of Argentina’s National Atomic Energy Commission. “There are different local communities, but in the end, there is a common concept that you have to engage, you have to discuss. Talking with the community about all kinds of nuclear facilities is very important.”

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency