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Wisconsin has only one nuclear energy plant. Republican laws, together with an initiative from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, may transfer the state towards extra nuclear energy.
The GOP-led Senate Invoice 125, launched in March, would require the state Public Service Fee, which regulates electrical and gasoline utilities in Wisconsin, to conduct a nuclear energy siting examine.
The examine would determine nuclear energy technology alternatives on present energy technology websites, in addition to on websites not now used for energy technology.
It will assist Wisconsin “meet up with different states which have already made vital strides in exploring new nuclear power,” stated Paul Wilson, chair of the Division of Nuclear Engineering on the College of Wisconsin-Madison.
State Sen. Julian Bradley, R-New Berlin, who launched the invoice, didn’t reply to requests for remark.
Teams registered in favor of the laws embody the Wisconsin Utilities Affiliation and a number of other worker unions. The PSC additionally helps the invoice, noting that an modification to the invoice retains the present timeline for the fee to evaluate functions for such electrical energy technology.
Opponents embody Sierra Membership Wisconsin, which says nuclear energy “poses vital dangers on account of its excessive prices, lengthy development timelines, unresolved radioactive waste points and the potential for catastrophic accidents.”
The environmental group Clear Wisconsin says the nuclear business, not taxpayers, ought to fund siting research.
The trouble to discover extra nuclear power is bipartisan in that, individually, Evers proposed in his 2025-27 state price range spending $1 million to do a nuclear energy plant feasibility examine.
Evers, calling nuclear power clear, stated in a press release to Wisconsin Watch that “with new superior nuclear expertise and the growing want for power throughout Wisconsin, it’s long gone time that we put money into new, modern industries and applied sciences.”
Wisconsin’s solely working nuclear energy plant, Level Seaside, is close to the Manitowoc County neighborhood of Two Rivers.
A nuclear plant in Kewaunee shut down in 2013.
The Senate Committee on Utilities and Tourism authorised SB 125 on Could 6. No different votes have been scheduled.
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