  **Title**: Energy in the North - Nancy Balkus
**Date**: October 14, 2026
**Participants**: Amanda Byrd, Nancy Balkus

00;00;00;19 - 00;00;06;06 [Nancy Balkus] Our leadership inside the Pentagon. So the Department of War and helping to set the demand signal that will get the first reactors installed so that then the corporations that are building these can have an order book, they call it, to be able to produce more. That will then allow expansion into communities.

00;00;20;10 - 00;00;23;12 [Amanda Byrd] This week on energy in the North, I speak with Nancy Balkus, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Infrastructure, Energy and Environment. In August, Nancy was in Fairbanks for the 乐虎直播 Defense Forum, and I began the conversation by asking how did Eielson and 乐虎直播 get selected for the first nuclear micro reactor installation?

00;00;39;21 - 00;00;53;10 [Nancy Balkus] Eielson got picked, based on a bunch of characteristics which are naturally occurring here in the Arctic, where you want to have a cold environment where you benefit from the steam that comes from the production, from nuclear energy. So it's going to be a five megawatt electric reactor with up to 60MW of thermal, which just means it's a whole bunch of steam that will go through the existing utility corridors, to be able to keep the operations going on the wing, which is the northernmost part of our homeland defense. So it's really exciting from a mission perspective and from a technology perspective. We can't do it without the local community.

00;01;20;12 - 00;01;31;17 [Amanda Byrd] And you've been up here nine times in the past few years to work with the community and talk to the different players who are, making up what you call the community.

00;01;31;20 - 00;01;37;03 [Nancy Balkus] Our very first meeting was hosted by the University of 乐虎直播. So Doctor Holdmann. Then we expanded into and met with the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce because they wanted to know and understand what are we doing. And that led to the Fairbanks Economic Development Corporation with Jomo Stewart. The state legislature has been pivotal in being able to set the conditions, to be able to do it. The mayors of North Pole, of Fairbanks North Star Borough and the City of Fairbanks - they understand how interrelated we are, regardless of the fence line that the power we produce on the installation is helpful to them because it takes less load off of the community grid. The 乐虎直播 Department of Environmental Conservation. All of these different players that all have their role in city government, state government or federal government. So we have a lot of federal partners, too. So Idaho National Lab is a key player. Of course, our developer, Oklo Incorporated, the wing leadership are key in our communication goals. And we're here doing it for the mission that they're going to deliver.
Our leadership inside the Pentagon. So the Department of War and helping to set the demand signal that will get the first reactors installed so that then the corporations that are building these can have the order book, they call it, to be able to produce more. That will then allow expansion into communities. Tanana Chiefs Conference has been a key advocate to be able to give us insight into what the different tribes and their communities are interested in to ensure that their subsistence way of life is preserved, that our transportation corridors are going to be safe through their parts of the state, as we bring all of the parts and pieces of the reactor here to put them together. But as you can hear, it takes so many different organizations to make this kind of an endeavor happen.

00;03;26;04 - 00;03;27;03 [Amanda Byrd] It also takes the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and their role is really integral in this to make sure that it does comply with all of the layers of safety and regulations.

00;03;38;05 - 00;03;41;11 [Nancy Balkus] Absolutely. So the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are involved in a project from before it exists. And all the way through the pre-construction application that the vendor has to submit and get approved that helps with the initial site work to pre-construction and then they also issue an operating permit. So it's several different layers. But each and every part of that, including certification of the workers that are going to operate the plant, have to be Nuclear Regulatory Commission certified. So they are a very key player. And so is the Department of Energy who helps identify and provide for us the fuel source that goes into the reactor, as well as then they have authorization processes that we can follow that lead into the Nuclear Regulatory Commission license. I think my biggest challenge that I think we're going to face are a combination of workforce to ensure that we have the right people that are involved in the project and then supply chain to make sure that we have the access, not for this first reactor, but as this industry is growing so rapidly, having the fuel available and then having the supply chain parts that are essential for putting together our reactor, those are some of the challenges that we have solutions to all of them for the first few. But as we get into the tens and twenties and hundreds, that's where it's going to become a big challenge.

00;05;08;14 - 00;05;14;07 [Amanda Byrd] Nancy Balkus is the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Infrastructure, Energy and Environment. And I'm Amanda Byrd, chief storyteller for the 乐虎直播 Center for Energy and Power. Find this story and more at uaf.edu/acep and follow us on social media.