National lab seeks boost before nuke mission

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The U.S. government plans to build a new transmission line and make other upgrades costing hundreds of million dollars to ensure its laboratory in northern New Mexico has enough electricity for ongoing operations and future missions that include manufacturing key components for the nation’s nuclear arsenal.

Officials have said one of the existing lines that feeds Los Alamos National Laboratory is expected to reach capacity this summer.

The other likely will hit its limit within the next few years amid more high-computing projects related to nuclear weapons design and performance and as work ramps up to build the plutonium cores that are used to trigger weapons.

The U.S. Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration announced Monday that it will work with federal land managers to assess the project’s potential environmental effects. A virtual public meeting is scheduled for May 6, and the public will have until May 21 to weigh in.

The proposed transmission line would stretch more than 12 miles, crossing national forest land in an area known as the Caja del Rio and spanning the Rio Grande at White Rock Canyon. Structural towers would need to be built on both sides of the canyon.

The project — which could cost up to $300 million — also would require new overhead poles with an average span of 800 feet, and access roads for construction and maintenance.

The Los Alamos Study Group, a watchdog group, reiterated concerns about the lack of an overall analysis of the cumulative effects that plutonium core production and more weapons work could have on communities.