The Illinois Senate in the US has voted to lift a 30-year ban on the construction of new NPPs in the state. The Senate passed State Senator Sue Rezin’s legislation, Senate Bill 76, by a 39-13 bipartisan vote, and it will now move to the House for further consideration. A similar bill, House Bill 1079, introduced in the House by Mark Walker was approved in committee with a bipartisan majority of 18-3, but still has to be discussed by the full House.
Rezin said ending the moratorium on NPP construction would create jobs, lower utility costs, and provide more reliable, clean energy. “Illinois is just one of 12 states in the entire nation to still have a moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power facilities. In the past few years, other states, including our neighbour Indiana, have recognised just how arbitrary and archaic these types of bans are and moved to remove them,” said Rezin. “My legislation is a bipartisan, pro-jobs bill that will help ensure that Illinois is able to effectively compete with other states who are beginning to understand the pivotal role nuclear energy can play in relieving growing energy grid reliability and resiliency pressures.”
Senate Bill 76 would eliminate the language that provides that no construction “shall commence on any new nuclear power plant to be located within the state”. Under the legislation, public utility and energy companies will not be obliged to invest in nuclear energy, but will have the option if they wish to support such projects. These could be either traditional nuclear reactors or new small modular reactors (SMRs.)
“The bill is going to come to the House with a lot of momentum,” Rezin said in an interview after the bill passed. “The unions are out and working their members to explain the importance of the bill and to just explain the technology.”
The state’s ban went into effect in 1987 and was intended to remain in effect until the federal government identifies a national nuclear waste disposal strategy. In 1987, Congress identified a site in Nevada (Yucca Mountain) as the nation’s repository for nuclear waste, but opposition from the state and the White House cancelled that plan. As yet no national disposal site has been designated.
Image: Senator Sue Rezin speaks on the Senate floor Thursday in favour of her bill to lift a statewide moratorium on new nuclear power construction (courtesy of Capitol News Illinois)
