Nikole Young
Oregon Nuclear Advocate, Writer, Navy Officer, and Mom
Growing up in Rainier, Oregon, both of Nikole Young’s parents worked at the now-closed Trojan Nuclear Plant. Ironically, Young’s birth coincided with the plant’s death - amidst environmental opposition, Portland General Electric announced plans to close the plant in 1992.
Trojan Nuclear Plant in Oregon. The plant, where Young’s parents worked, was shut down in 1993.
Directly after Young was born in 1992, her parents carried her from the hospital to the nuclear plant, where they were undergoing decommissioning work. Young said Trojan was a cultural hub of multi-trade, multi-class Oregonians and that her parents wanted to integrate her into that community as soon as possible. Several of Young’s aunts and uncles also worked at the plant.
Despite this background, Young, a writer and a public affairs officer for the US Navy Reserves, was neutral about nuclear until 2015.
Young embarked on their energy career with Portland General Electric (PGE), working at Port Westward Power Plant, a gas plant near Rainier, in 2015. Interacting with former US Navy electricians, Young rapidly learned about nuclear energy, the navy, and Oregon’s energy industry, becoming supportive of nuclear.
Motivated by a desire to provide a better future for her children and to combat misinformation about nuclear energy, Young wrote an op-ed in 2019 calling for an end to Oregon’s moratorium on nuclear energy, in place since 1980, as a push for clean energy.
Young felt reticent to engage in more community action and nuclear advocacy until she was encouraged by Heather Hoff from Mothers for Nuclear and women in the larger nuclear space in 2025.
In less than a week, Young was able to get 28 people to write letters supporting two pro-nuclear bills that reached the Ways and Means Committee but ultimately failed. House Bill 2410 (the “Umatilla Exception” would have allowed the construction of an SMR demonstration facility in Umatilla County, and House Bill 2038 called for the study of economic and energy benefits as well as the feasibility of nuclear energy projects.
A shared vision for her children’s future and like-minded women in the nuclear space emboldened Young’s outreach on the two bills.
“It's our children's future that is at stake, and I think that is a good motivating factor for all of us. If you're a woman and mother and you support nuclear power, I think that sharing your story is important because it gives other women who feel the same way, who might not feel so empowered to talk about it, a sense of belonging,” Young said. “It really took Heather reaching out to me for me to start this domino effect last spring of being very vocal. I wouldn't have rallied the people that I was able to rally to write letters in support of those House bills.”
Young’s desire for nuclear activism also stems from a frustration with misinformation, particularly in media like The Simpsons and the HBO series Chernobyl (2019). On one occasion, a colleague at Wauna Credit Union verbally attacked Young and her husband for supporting nuclear energy and used The Simpsons as an argument, comparing it to rumors about the Trojan Nuclear Plant. The colleague berated the couple, saying they did not know better because they came from a small town.
“It was just very bizarre. I'm like, wow, we need to change the subject. But that was what I realized. There are these very strong feelings about nuclear power that are negative, and it's usually misinformed. Like Chernobyl has a lot of factual inaccuracies. The Simpsons is written by someone who is from Oregon, and he's basing the Simpsons nuclear off of rumors revolving around Trojan.”
For Young, energy security is a driving factor for the adoption of nuclear energy. Young said she wants her son to avoid rolling blackouts in the future due to misinformation, and that she would die on the hill, so to speak, defending nuclear energy and the standard of living it safeguards. While throughout the U.S., reliable electricity is more or less taken for granted, Young sees nuclear as vital with the coming increased demand for electricity with data centers and population growth.
In 2023, Young received a Master’s degree in creative writing from Pacific University. Young is developing a novel subtly incorporating nuclear energy themes, with a focus on personal transformation and environmental activism. Set in Oregon, the story follows three women navigating relationships, the local energy industry, and economic challenges. One woman ultimately decides to run for office to help overturn the state’s nuclear moratorium.
“I don't want the nuclear argument to be, too in your face. It's not just about nuclear power. It's about the local industry as I know it, because I'm so inundated and so much like living day to day with the electrical energy industry, I'm obsessed with it,” Young said. “It's about these three women's relationships with one another. It's more about people, people's minds changing about (nuclear).”
Through studying the grid, Young concluded nuclear is an essential resource as a base load power, able to replace fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas. While Young believes wind and solar can compliment nuclear energy, due to their intermitancy, they cannot provide reliable power on their own.
“There is going to be an base load need no matter what, regardless of whether we're able to get a million wind farms or a million wind turbines up,” Young said. “If we're phasing out gas and coal, we need to be able to find an appropriate replacement for the base load, and that's nuclear power.”
Overturning Oregon’s ban on nuclear is a lifelong goal for Young. While she recognizes the challenges in an area with significant anti-nculear opposition, Young is confident nuclear will be legalized in the state in the coming decades simply due to the amount of electricity that needs to be put on the grid. She predicts Oregon will first buy nuclear generated electricity from neighboring states before building their own nuclear facilities.
Young plans to use their experience in customer marketing and communications in a campaign to overturn Measure 7, Oregon’s moratorium on nuclear. She said that she is in the process of local outreach, aiming for education, to calm fears, and provide clarity on the energy source.
“Nuclear is part of the future no matter what,” Young said.
- Article by Jack Austin