Valor representative says reactor on track for July 4; Council asked about local hires and fuel plans

Harry Hanson, a public-affairs representative for Valor, told the Orangeville City Council during public comment that he was a recent hire helping with the company's community outreach and state energy issues. "My name is Harry Hanson," he said, and described his prior work with state energy development.

Hanson said Valor has hired "somewhere around between 80 to a 100 people or so," including several from Orangeville and nearby communities, and that the company aims to bring a small reactor online by Independence Day. "We plan on being successful with the goal, by turning on our reactor by July 4 and we are on track," he said.

Council members asked Hanson about hiring specifics, whether a second building on the site would be another reactor and potential market customers. Hanson said the second building will be for manufacturing fuel — a product he called "Trisulfuel" — and that Valor intends to be a vertically integrated supplier to reduce reliance on overseas uranium. "We are going to manufacture and produce our own fuel," Hanson said, and described the company as aiming to become "the largest manufacturer of this fuel called Trisulfuel in the world outside of China."

Council members raised practical questions about local employment and contractors; Hanson acknowledged he did not have exact hiring numbers on the spot but said he would follow up. He said many construction and operational hires were local, with "half a dozen, maybe a dozen" current employees who live in Orangeville or Castledale.

The chair thanked Hanson for the update and moved on to the agenda. The council did not take formal action related to Valor at this meeting; Hanson’s presentation and the council’s questions were recorded during the public-comment portion of the agenda.