Breaking: County Commissioners Planning Nuclear Reactors for Douglas County

This week's meeting agenda considers a potential "study" for modular nuclear power

“Radioactive” sign at Chernobyl, Photo by Kilian Karger on Unsplash

This week’s study session agenda for the County Commissioner’s includes the line item, “Follow Up for a Potential Feasibility Study of Small Modular Reactor Nuclear Sites in Douglas County.”

The Lantern has heard rumors of this topic for about a week, and the release of this week’s study session agenda confirms them. It should be noted this agenda item is for a “potential feasibility study” and not a final approval of a new, nuclear power initiative from the Commissioners.

Agenda for June 30th, 2026 Work Session

This week’s agenda follows a trend of the Board of County Commissioners saving controversial items for holiday weeks - when it is harder for the public to attend. The agenda also includes a provision to provide funding for a charter school in Sterling Ranch and to approve funding a firework celebration in Highlands Ranch after local governments there nixed plans due to wildfire risk during a drought.

Small, modular nuclear reactors have been proposed as a solution to the rising demand for data centers. Data centers would have their own nuclear reactors, much smaller than typical nuclear power plants, and be effectively independent from the main power grid. The debate about the pros and cons of nuclear power have been raging since the discovery of atomic energy. Nuclear power provides an emissions-free source of reliable electricity and requires less land to produce a larger amount of power than other fuels. The downsides include larger upfront costs, toxic waste production, and the potential for massive disasters.