In a shocking turn of events, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker recently vetoed the state’s nuclear moratorium repeal bill, which had been approved by the General Assembly. The governor’s action not only goes against his climate vision but now puts him and Illinois on an island all alone by failing to move toward nuclear innovation.
Thankfully, the rest of the country is moving in the right direction and making long-term, strategic decisions about nuclear.
We kicked off the year with a whirlwind of policy debates in state houses. Since then, 17 states have acted in favor of nuclear, and the year hasn’t even finished!
During Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s keynote at NEI’s Nuclear Energy Assembly, he announced the launch of Tennessee’s Nuclear Advisory Council, appointed NEI President and CEO Maria Korsnick, and explained that $50 million of the state budget would be allocated to boosting nuclear companies in the state. Meanwhile, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin included $5 million in his proposed state budget for a Nuclear Innovation Hub, and the state passed a Nuclear Education Grant Program to support the growing need for nuclear jobs. West Virginia passed similar legislation. These bills inject funding into nuclear apprentice programs in the state, which will lead to good, high-paying jobs.
In Michigan, the legislature created a bipartisan Nuclear Energy Caucus and secured $150 million in funds for re-activating the Palisades plant after it was decommissioned. This is a huge development, as it’s the first state funding stream of its kind to return a plant back to power generation. It’s a clear sign of the need for the reliable, clean power that nuclear energy provides. The Michigan legislature also passed legislation to study small modular reactors (SMRs) last year, and that study is underway right now. Michigan is currently considering a clean energy standard that could recognize the contributions of the state’s nuclear units, which produce more than 70 percent of Michigan’s carbon-free generation.
Several nuclear bills were also debated in Texas during this session, including a coal-to-nuclear study bill that passed. Although it was vetoed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, this action was not a slight against nuclear—the governor vetoed 80+ bills in one day in a battle over property tax with the legislature. Since then, the governor has directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas to organize a working group to support advanced nuclear, which will be helpful to the X-energy and Dow project in Seadrift, TX, as it works to deliver clean power and steam production via next-generation nuclear.
Minnesota was first out of the gate this year, passing an ambitious mandate to reach 100 percent carbon free by 2040, which includes nuclear. And both Idaho and Tennessee passed bills defining nuclear energy as clean energy. In North Carolina, a bill to define nuclear as a clean energy resource has passed the House and Senate and is pending conference agreement, which would complement the state’s decarbonization planning bill passed in 2021.
Even more studies and working groups focused on nuclear were created across the country this year, including a nuclear-hydrogen working group in Nebraska. In Connecticut, a consumer protection bill created a nuclear working group and directed the state to study advanced nuclear. It also expanded their tier one renewables class to include new nuclear—a particularly remarkable recognition of nuclear. Colorado approved a state energy innovation study that will include advanced nuclear exploration. Ohio established in their budget a Nuclear Development Authority, a multi-year effort lead by legislative champions which empowers the governor to appoint a council to explore nuclear innovation in the state.
North and South Dakota are both new to nuclear but passed SMR study bills. Kentucky has a little more legacy with nuclear but no generation, though the state passed a resolution to create a state working group on nuclear. The group has already started convening and will put a permanent framework in place for the state. And Indiana sharpened its SMR-enabling legislation by raising its generation cap to allow for new nuclear designs to be deployed.
Another shocker this year is Arkansas. The state passed a bill framing their plan to initiate a nuclear recycling program and potentially host a consolidated interim storage site—yet another first-of-its-kind policy for a state looking to explore nuclear recycling.
And incredible progress is also being made on demonstration projects in states like Wyoming, Idaho and Texas, where the advocate base is growing and getting louder. This is important because we need to turn up the volume on nuclear advocacy and keep shockers like Governor Pritzker’s veto from happening again.
