Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington doubled down Tuesday on wanting to study the possible use of a modular nuclear reactor to serve the fast-growing airport’s future power needs in a keynote speech before an audience of city officials and transportation advocates.

“I think it’s a chilling message to say to the world that we should not at least study something,” Washington told attendees at the Sustainable Transportation Summit in Longmont Tuesday.

“Small modular reactors that have the ability to be scalable, to be stackable, to be phased in to meet demand is something we should at least study,” Washington said.

Washington and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston set off a controversy three weeks ago when they proposed a $1.25 million feasibility study of using an SMR at the airport as part of DIA’s long-term planning and commitments to achieve sustainable energy goals.

Fallout

The idea drew immediate backlash from civic and other critics, questioning the environmental impacts of a potential plant. Opposition included that of Denver City Councilmember Stacie Gilmore, who represents the council district nearest the airport.

The dustup coincided with widespread media coverage that included national and even international press stories about the SMR study proposal. A week after the idea was floated, DIA officials announced a pause of the study for community overview and input.

In March, a bipartisan majority of Colorado legislators approved House Bill 25-1040 dubbed “Adding Nuclear Energy as a Clean Energy Resource” and Gov. Jared Polis signed the measure March 31. But critics of nuclear power here and elsewhere continue to oppose its use as hazardous.

Washington told the audience Tuesday that examining the technology’s application for the airport is not the same as a commitment to adopt it.

“It is not building a nuclear plant; it is a feasibility study,” he said. Washington added that DIA has already adopted numbers of other sustainable energy technologies, including large scale solar arrays.

Continued capacity

But assuring a continuing capacity of future power is important as a safety factor for an airport that is already the nation’s third largest, Washington continued.

“Airports don’t have the option for the tower to have (a power) outage,” he said.   

“Once we get the information from that study we will go to the public with a degree of knowledge based on our results.”

The Longmont discussion was in the context of examining ground transportation options for the airport, which Washinton noted already vastly exceeded an anticipated 50 million annual passengers that were planned for by its original infrastructure that opened in 1995. Last year the airport served 82.3 million passengers.

That total could jump to 100 million passengers in the near term, and to 120-plus million annual passengers by 2045, Washington said.

New security gates

He touted the opening of two new security screening gates in the north part of the main terminal at DIA as part of preparations to meet current and future expansion and noted that the south end of the terminal will be walled off for reconstruction soon.

Washington added that the airport’s C Concourse — the only one of the three concourses serving passengers that still has a capacity for an extension — would see an expansion on its west end soon. Plans were also underway to add some additional gates and counters on the north end of the main terminal, that will be able to be accessed without riding the train out to the concourses.

Washington, who previously directed RTD and became airport CEO in 2021, said that RTD’s A-Line service from downtown to the airport was an important component of DIA’s capacity to serve passengers as its economy lots fill.

The Denver Gazette asked Washington whether enough was being done to increase the capacity of the airport’s Peña Boulevard access freeway, which still serves as its primary access and where drivers frequently see tie-ups and cars pulled over illegally, waiting for passengers to phone from the arrival level.

“You are going to see incredible improvements in the next couple of years,” Washington said.

In April the city had approved a $15 million contract to fund an environmental study of the thoroughfare, and of ways to rid traffic snarls. Washington added that he was reluctant to spell out specific plans, but that the funding would help speed changes.

“We don’t want to predetermine the outcome,” he said.

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