VALAR WATCH
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374 facts · 512 sources · updated 2026-09-30

Fact gov-013

newrecordconfirmed The state board that must approve lab projects approved 'the Valar Project' Aug 13, 2025, at a 35-minute first meeting
2025-08-13 · gov-013 · Utah Energy Research Board, Utah Office of Energy Development, Utah San Rafael Energy Lab, Valar Atomics, Dennis Worwood, Jaron Wallace, Emy Lesofski, Natura Resources

Utah law (Title 79, Chapter 6, Part 10) creates the Utah Energy Research Board inside OED to oversee the San Rafael Energy Lab; the lab must receive and evaluate project proposals and recommend them, and the board 'shall review the project proposals' and make 'final decisions on approval' (79-6-1005); the lab may contract with users, with revenue going to the Utah Energy Research Fund (79-6-1004(2)(d)). The board's first meeting, noticed on the Utah Public Notice Website, was held 13 August 2025 at the State Capitol, 10:00 to 10:35 a.m. Per its approved minutes, members took the oath, appointed Jaron Wallace lab director, and then heard 'Project Valar', 'a 250-kilowatt microreactor test site' that 'recently received approval' from DOE; they discussed private funding, returning the site to a 'Greenfield' state and financial assurance for liability; Emery County Commissioner Dennis Worwood, a board member, 'noted strong public support' in Emery County; the motion to approve, made by member Larry Howell and seconded by Worwood, passed 7-0. Set beside the record: by then OED had signed its MOU (16 May), Valar had held its Emery town hall (8 July) and DOE had announced its selection a day earlier (12 August), a selection, not an authorization; DOE's OTA began 22 October 2025 (gov-003). The same meeting approved a Natura Resources molten-salt project at the lab. The minutes record that the meeting closed with a public comment period, in which attendees expressed appreciation for the board's formation.

In plain termsState law gives a specific board the final say on which projects go into the state energy lab. That board approved Valar's reactor project at its very first meeting, in Salt Lake City, in a meeting that lasted 35 minutes, after the state had already signed with Valar and announced the project. The meeting was legally noticed and ended with a public comment period, but it was held far from Emery County, after the state had signed its non-binding MOU and DOE had announced its selection; under state law, this board makes the final decision on approving projects at the lab (79-6-1005). The minutes describe DOE as having 'approved' the project; DOE had only selected it the day before.
verified 2026-09-29: Re-read Utah Code 79-6 Part 10, the 13 Aug 2025 notice and minutes 2026-09-29; quotes exact. Fixed: the 'DOE selected it a day earlier' point had no cited source; DOE's 12 Aug 2025 selection release was read and is now cited. Added that Worwood seconded the approval. Correction 2026-10-01 (precision review): wording made more exact against the cited records.

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