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Gosar promotes small modular nuclear, desalination and regional water banking for Arizona
Summary
At the commission meeting Rep. Paul Gosar urged support for small modular nuclear reactors, described talks with utilities seeking multiple SMRs, and proposed a regional water-bank approach tied to desalination and interstate pipelines. He discussed using contaminated aquifers for critical-minerals processing and urged planning for future energy
U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar told the Mohave County Public Lands and Recreation Commission on Aug. 7 that he supports an "all-of-the-above" energy strategy, including small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), and urged regional planning for desalinated water and state-level water banking to blunt Colorado River shortages.
Gosar said utilities in Arizona have applied for SMR projects and that he expects demand for small reactors to accelerate. "We need one up here. We need one in the Southwest," he said, arguing for multiple regional units to supply baseload power and to serve energy-intensive facilities such as data centers.
On water, Gosar described discussions about desalination projects in Texas and a pipeline corridor that could move desalinated water toward the Southwest. He cited the Kinder Morgan corridor and said elevation differences — which he described as roughly 4,500 feet at the Texas end and about 1,000 feet at Phoenix — could make conveyance feasible in his view. He proposed state-level water-banking arrangements so tribes and communities could store and trade entitlements within Arizona rather than exporting them out of state.
Gosar also cited emerging technologies to extract lithium and other critical minerals from contaminated, subsurface waters. He named a company he called "Slumberj" as an example of technology vendors that can process such waters and recover lithium while treating contamination.
Commissioners and county staff said local utilities, mining projects and county planning offices are engaged on energy and water resilience. Commissioner Diaz and utility representatives discussed regional placement of generation and potential impacts on local infrastructure and permitting.
No formal county policy or funding decisions were made at the meeting. Commissioners indicated willingness to engage on regional planning and to share local data with federal and utility partners.
