Demand for nuclear energy isn’t just on the rise federally and internationally—it is at the state level, too.
States like Tennessee, Virginia, Michigan, and more are all making strides in their legislatures to create a bigger emphasis on nuclear.
Want to learn more about what is going on with nuclear energy at the state level? We’re asking the expert, Christine Csizmadia, NEI’s senior Director for State Governmental Affairs and Advocacy.
How does nuclear policy differ between the state level and federal level?
Everyone knows states are where all the action is. Bills move so quickly at the state level—sometimes there's 11 hearings in one day. So, you see policy moving so quickly and you can get bills passed so quickly versus in Capitol Hill, it's gridlock. So, it's so exciting to see nuclear policy get supported and move quickly if the states.
How interested are state governments in nuclear developments?
States are so interested in new nuclear these days. Last year was a historic year for nuclear. We've never seen so much momentum from states and their interest in recognizing nuclear. Just this past year, 20 states took action to support nuclear. The policies that they were passing are really a lot of the policy trends that we've seen previously. They're doing things like repealing moratoriums, removing barriers from considering nuclear policies. They're recognizing nuclear in their state strategies so that they define nuclear as a clean technology, or they're including nuclear in their clean energy standards. They're also looking to study nuclear by convening task forces or commissions and working groups. They're also financially incentivizing nuclear. So, these are all policy trends that we've always been looking at, but we've never seen so many of these policies pass in one particular year. And this year we've had over 100 bills introduced just to support nuclear as well. So, this policy momentum is still continuing this year.
Where are we seeing the most progress on the state level for nuclear energy?
Well, don't ask me to pick a favorite state because I won't. They're all doing a lot of great progress. But states that are passing bills that are supportive of nuclear, so, states that are studying nuclear are convening task forces and working groups. Those are states that are exploring nuclear, states that are removing barriers like repealing moratoriums. Those are states that are showing the most progress for nuclear. But it's also really exciting to see states like Tennessee and Virginia take significant actions to support nuclear energy.
What types of nuclear policy trends are we seeing in the states?
We're seeing some significant nuclear policy trends in the states. First, states are removing barriers, so they're repealing nuclear moratoriums. There used to be 16 nuclear moratoriums across the country. Six have been repealed since 2016, so there's ten left. Then we have states that are convening task forces, working groups, commissions, all to study nuclear technology. Then we have states that are defining nuclear as a clean technology. So, they're either defining nuclear as clean or they're including nuclear as a clean energy standard. Just this past year, Michigan and Minnesota included nuclear explicitly in their clean energy standard. Then you have states that are financially incentivizing nuclear, so they're including nuclear in their financial incentive packages. Tennessee and Virginia both included millions of dollars in their budgets for nuclear energy.
