Idaho Nuclear Facility To Restart Testing After 23 years

BOISE, ID — U.S. officials have restarted an Idaho nuclear fuel testing facility amid efforts to boost the nation's nuclear power generating capacity.

The U.S. Department of Energy says the facility at the Idaho National Laboratory began operating Tuesday for the first time since it went on standby in 1994.

The Energy Department proposed resuming operations at the Transient Reactor Test Facility in 2013 as part of former President Barack Obama's plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by generating carbon-free electricity with nuclear power.

Officials say testing on new types of fuels at the facility will help scientists increase the performance and safety of nuclear reactors already in operation and those yet to be built.

Nuclear energy produces about 19 percent of the nation's energy.

By KEITH RIDLER, Associated Press

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