'Nuclear Energy Is Farm Friendly'
Published: Friday, January 9, 2026
A Henry County, Ind. native and nuclear energy expert led a breakout session at the Indiana Ag Gathering last month in French Lick, Ind. She discussed the future of nuclear and its role and benefits in diversifying energy options in Indiana.
Kati Austgen is the director of public engagement and new nuclear in policy and public affairs at the Nuclear Energy Institute. She discussed the growing support for nuclear energy and its benefits for farming.
"Nuclear energy is very reliable," Austgen said. "It has had a 90% average capacity factor since 1999."
There are 94 nuclear reactors stationed at 53 plants across the U.S., with two in Michigan and five in Illinois. Four sites have been identified in Michigan and Indiana for potential nuclear sites. One of these sites is in Rockport, Ind., located in Spencer County. Austgen said reactors provide about 300 permanent jobs and generate over 1,000 additional jobs during the construction phase.
Projects in Michigan include the restart of the Palisades nuclear energy facility in Covert, Mich. and two new small modular reactors (Holtec SMR-300 units) to be constructed at the same site. Both projects are led by Holtec, and both have received federal support through the U.S. Department of Energy.
Projects in Indiana include a potential small modular reactor (unspecified design), based on the result of a Purdue University/Duke Energy study and report on options for university decarbonization, and Indiana Michigan Power considering a GE Vernova Hitachi BWRX-300 small modular reactor at their Rockport site.
Austgen said nuclear energy currently has an economic impact of $186 million in Indiana, despite not having any reactors. This is due to educational and transportation resources the energy industry uses. She added that President Trump's administration has a goal to quadruple nuclear energy use in the U.S. Currently, projections show nuclear growth is on track, with an estimated addition of 300 small modular reactors by 2058. She expects that with rising energy demands, quadrupling the number of nuclear reactors in the U.S. will be easy.
She added that nuclear energy is farmer friendly because it uses the least amount of land out of all the energy sources.
"Atoms are very energy dense. So, you don't need a whole lot of land to build a nuclear reactor and to get all of that energy and for it to be on 24/7, 365," she said.
Austgen listed agriculture, pulp and paper, data centers, oil and gas, and transportation among the potential new consumers of nuclear energy.
"There are several ways that nuclear energy can support agriculture end users, including reliable heat and power for processing facilities, such as: dairy facilities, ammonia production, ethanol or synthetic fuel production," she said. "Nuclear technologies are also key to sustainable agriculture with applications in many areas like soil and water management, animal health and pest control. The International Atomic Energy Agency has lots of good information on these applications."
Reactors are cooled by either water, high temperature gas such as helium, liquid metal or molten salt. They typically draw water from a lake, river or ocean. That water then gets recycled back into the water source after it has been used and cleaned.
Reactors can be micro, small or large, and provide energy, isotopes, storage of hydrogen and process heat. Isotopes are a type of atom that can is used in medicine, oftentimes as a cancer treatment.
Each reactor falls into one of two categories: boiling water reactors or pressurized water reactors. To create energy, the nuclear reactor heats water through nuclear fission, or the process of splitting an atom. Splitting an atom releases neutrons, which releases heat. Reactors are expected to operate for at least 80 years.
When looking at support and opposition around nuclear sites, NEI found that 77% of the general public supports nuclear energy, with only 3% of reactor neighbors opposed and 7% of the general public opposed.
"Nuclear has a lot of bipartisan support," Austgen added.
She said this is in part because nuclear energy is the lowest cost energy system. The nuclear industry also often repurposes dormant infrastructures.
Nuclear energy also received high rankings from the Department of Energy in cleanliness, firmness, low land use, low transmission, concentrated local economics and direct heat applications.
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