A billboard near the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant announces in bold letters: 鈥淭he future is now for PORTS.鈥�
The U.S. Department of Energy has spent more than a decade cleaning up this site, decontaminating and decommissioning facilities that were once used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons during the Cold War.
Two years ago, it one of the largest structures on the site: the X-326 uranium process building covered 56 acres.
Now, new, private, are moving in, building on the site鈥檚 nuclear legacy.
Back in time at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant
remember the A-Plant, as it was commonly called, as its own tiny town, complete with a fire department and police force, hospital, repair shops and cafeteria.
For decades starting in the 鈥�50s, the plant employed thousands of people.
But then the Cold War ended, and , it stopped operating.
As the Department of Energy started cleaning up nuclear weapons facilities across the country, it tasked community reuse organizations, like the , with figuring out how to use the land next.
鈥淲e started way, way back, even before the plant closed to try to do planning and to work out what the next steps would be,鈥� said Kevin Shoemaker, SODI鈥檚 in-house counsel. 鈥淏ut one of the most important things that had to happen was we had to have some guidance as to what the community really wanted to see.鈥�
Related: Decades after the Cold War, residents near a uranium enrichment plant fight for benefits
The Fernald site, another former nuclear weapons program site outside of Cincinnati, was converted into , with nuclear waste buried deep beneath its surface.
But most Pike County residents had a different vision for their site, said , director of Ohio University鈥檚 PORTSfuture program, a Department of Energy grant-funded program focused on repurposing the Piketon plant.
"How can we create a place that employed people for literally decades, how do we leverage that for their future, so that their kids and grandkids have the same opportunities that many of them did?"Stephanie Howe, Ohio University
In 2010 and 2011, Howe and her team to figure out exactly what the public wanted for the site鈥檚 future.
Their answer: jobs, she said, specifically in the nuclear industry.
鈥淲e were a little surprised about [that],鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut then not so much because they were used to being part of that nuclear landscape.鈥�
And because Piketon has long been part of that landscape, it鈥檚 well-equipped to handle those industries coming in.
鈥淭he infrastructure that's in place at the site, it's just unmatched,鈥� Shoemaker said. 鈥淎t the height of its operation, the facility used more electricity than the city of New York.鈥�
What鈥檚 coming next?
Last fall, Centrus Energy opened to enrich uranium again. It鈥檚 the first U.S. plant to do so in 70 years.
Another company has plans to on the site, which could use that enriched uranium to generate power.
And more projects are in the works 鈥� one company wants to , and there鈥檚 a utility-scale battery storage project on the horizon too.
The plan is to create an 鈥渋ntegrated energy manufacturing park,鈥� Howe said, that engages everyone from unions to students to local community members.
鈥淲e're trying to produce decarbonized energy for industry operations, but also for the national grid,鈥� she explained. 鈥淓verybody's talking about electrifying everything, but just because you plug it in doesn't mean it's clean if the source of that electricity has not been made by a carbon free or a lower carbon energy source.鈥�
But not everyone is happy with the new developments.
Local opposition
In March, a coalition of citizen-led organizations organized a meeting to share their concerns.
Some have pacifistic reasons for opposing nuclear power, because of its connection to nuclear weapons.
鈥淲e certainly don't want this technology out and around because it's called weapons proliferation,鈥� said Pat Marida, a coordinator for the Ohio Nuclear Free Network.
Others, like former A-Plant worker Vina Colley, are concerned about the storage of nuclear waste and whether it鈥檚 safe for people who live nearby. She鈥檚 been battling serious illnesses ever since she was exposed to radioactive materials at the plant, and now leads an organization called Piketon Residents for Environmental Safety and Security.
鈥淭hey're saying it's safe, clean energy,鈥� Colley said. 鈥淏ut it's the same thing that we've been doing for 70 years.鈥�
says it鈥檚 using new technology that鈥檚 inherently safer than what was used 70 years ago and that reduces the amount of waste generated.
Kevin Shoemaker, with SODI, defends the projects. But he recognizes not all community members will embrace this change.
鈥淭here are some people that are going to ask the questions, but they should,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd we welcome that. They should press the folks that are going to be there.鈥�
And while nuclear energy isn鈥檛 without controversy, it鈥檚 part of the history of this place and it鈥檒l be part of its future too.
