Karl Herchenroeder
RW Monitor
1/15/2016
The Wisconsin State Assembly on Tuesday approved legislation that would lift a 33-year moratorium on building nuclear power plants in the state.
Under current law, power plants cannot be built in Wisconsin because the federal government has not established a storage facility capable of taking the state’s waste. Assembly Bill 384, which now moves to the Republican-controlled Senate, lifts this requirement.
The bill also realigns energy priorities in Wisconsin. Under the changes, energy decisions would adhere to following priorities: 1) energy conservation and efficiency; 2) noncombustible renewable energy resources; 3) combustible renewable energy resources; and 4) nonrenewable combustible energy resources.
Bill supporters touted nuclear energy’s efficiency and cost-efficiency, while also discussing the prospect that the nuclear industry could create thousands of family supporting jobs in Wisconsin. Opponents claimed that bill supporters are ignoring clean-energy alternatives like wind and solar, and dismissing safety and disposal issues associated with nuclear.
While Rep. Chris Taylor (R-Madison) said there is no doubt the U.S. needs to wean itself from “our coal addiction,” she lobbied for renewable energy on the Assembly floor Tuesday. She claimed that if harnessed, hydro, wind, and solar could power the entire world several times over.
“That is the direction our state should be going in: true renewable resources that don’t have safety issues, that don’t produce nuclear waste that you have to dispose of somewhere,” she said, adding that the bill’s supporters are comparing nuclear only with coal.
The Assembly granted unanimous consent for the rules to be suspended and immediately messaged to the Senate.
The 1,000-megawatt capacity Point Beach Nuclear Plant, which was commissioned in 1970, represents Wisconsin’s only operational nuclear plant.
Assembly Bill 384’s author, Rep. Kevin Petersen (R-Waupaca), said lifting the ban doesn’t mean Wisconsin is ever going to build another nuclear plant. It simply opens up the discussion on efficiency and cost-effectiveness moving forward, he said.
“We’re not taking away energy and conservation efficiency,” Petersen said. “We’re not taking away renewable sources. They still stay above advanced nuclear in the state’s energy policy. … We’re going to have the discussions on what’s the best source of energy and cost-efficiency moving forward in the state of Wisconsin.”
Rep. Cory Mason (D-Racine) worried that Wisconsin is placing too many eggs in one basket. He voiced concerns about the efficiency and safety of nuclear energy. Furthermore, repealing the moratorium is not in line with the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, he said, adding that nuclear can be “a small piece” of the conversation. He called the decision on the bill a historic opportunity to reduce Wisconsin’s carbon footprint, suggested the bill takes Wisconsin in the wrong direction, and called the repeal a disservice to state residents.
