July 2025 Emery County town hall: Valar pitched a 12-month test, ~40 jobs, 'commercial development by 2028'

ETV News (Julie Johansen, July 9, 2025) reported the Emery County Commission's July 8, 2025 town hall in Castle Dale, requested by Valar after an MOU was signed and before its contract with the state lab was final. As reported, Valar said the company was about two years old, had a non-fueled test reactor near Los Angeles, aimed for July 4, 2026 (the nation's 250th birthday, hence 'Ward 250') with commercial development by 2028, expected about 40 employees for roughly 12 months of testing with local contractors for construction, and chose Utah because Carbon and Emery counties are the state's energy hub. A Valar slide deck posted on the state-run Utah Public Notice Website (file created July 8, 2025, server date 9 July 2025; 11 of its 12 pages are marked 'CONFIDENTIAL. DO NOT DISTRIBUTE.', yet the file is publicly posted; the public body and notice it is attached to were not identified) says the same: under 250 kW, 30 effective full-power days over 12 months in a temporary facility, commercial deployment by 2028.

• Not A Nuclear Plant Just Testing a Small Nuclear Reactor (ETV News (Emery Telcom), 2025-07-09) news “the nation’s 250 birthday, thus the name Valar Atomics Ward 250”
• Valar Atomics + SRERC in Emery County (Valar Atomics (posted on Utah Public Notice Website), 2025-07-08) primary company “Commercial Deployment by 2028”