GOP lawmakers are circulating a bill that would direct the state Public Service Commission to conduct a nuclear power siting study and create a “streamlined” approval process for certain facilities.
Reps. Shae Sortwell of Two Rivers, David Steffen of Howard and Robert Wittke of Caledonia, along with Sen. Julian Bradley of New Berlin, recently sent a co-sponsorship memo to other lawmakers seeking support for the legislation.
They say the state needs to be prepared for “soaring energy demands” driven by new data centers and other “energy-intensive” economic development.
“Nuclear power, especially next-generation reactors, will be a viable, carbon-free, domestically sourced option to meet those demands,” they wrote in the memo. “Laying the groundwork for nuclear energy investments and options today will bolster the safe, reliable, and affordable energy of tomorrow.”
Under the bill, the PSC would conduct or contract for a nuclear power siting study, aimed in part at identifying nuclear power generation opportunities at existing nuclear facilities and other power generation sites.
The agency would also be directed to identify new nuclear power and fusion energy sites that aren’t currently used for generating energy, as well as locations for developing nuclear fusion and fusion technology. And the PSC would create guidance for “advanced” nuclear reactors, pointing specifically to fusion technology and small modular reactors, or SMRs.
These installations have about one-third the generating capacity of a traditional nuclear reactor, according to an overview from the International Atomic Energy Agency, while being just “a fraction” of the size. Components of SMRs can be built elsewhere in a factory and transported to the installation site, helping with affordability.
Along with the siting study, the PSC would need to adopt an expedited approval process for facilities with an “advanced” nuclear reactor, with a 150-day application period for the relevant documentation rather than the standard 180-day period.
“A nuclear siting study coupled with a streamlined state-level approval process will strengthen Wisconsin’s ability to meet the inevitable growth in energy demands,” the lawmakers wrote. “Please join us in taking this exciting next step in Wisconsin’s nuclear energy journey.”
The state used to have two nuclear power plants until 2013, when the Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant was decommissioned, leaving the Point Beach plant as Wisconsin’s sole operating nuclear facility. Since then, the plant’s two nuclear reactors have supplied about 15% of the state’s net generation per year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The co-sponsorship deadline is Thursday at 4 p.m.
See the memo and get more details on the state’s energy landscape.
