{"id":15280,"date":"2025-02-13T20:44:12","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T21:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=15280"},"modified":"2025-02-13T21:57:07","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T21:57:07","slug":"new-legislative-resolve-is-building-to-pursue-nuclear-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=15280","title":{"rendered":"New legislative resolve is building to pursue nuclear energy"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post originally appeared at https:\/\/www.badgerinstitute.org\/new-legislative-resolve-is-building-to-pursue-nuclear-energy\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Badger Institute supports resolution now being circulated in the Capitol<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Nine years after then-Gov. Scott Walker signed legislation lifting a moratorium on building new nuclear power plants, Rep. David Steffen and Sen. Julian Bradley are circulating a joint resolution supporting expansion of nuclear energy production in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

Steffen said Thursday there are several reasons the state needs to support nuclear energy right now.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to be in dramatic need of energy production, with Microsoft alone,\u201d he said, referring to the Microsoft data center now under construction<\/a> in and around Mount Pleasant. \u201cThat single campus will be pulling more power than the city of Madison.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible a 2,000-acre data center<\/a> will also be built in the Port Washington area \u2014 a project that would, if it comes to fruition, rival in scope and economic impact the Microsoft project. Plans, meanwhile, are moving forward for a data center with four buildings on roughly 240 acres northeast of state highway 142 just west of I-94 in Kenosha, according to\u202fdocuments\u202ffiled with the Kenosha Plan Commission in November by Navix Engineering of Bellevue, Wash.<\/p>\n

Wisconsin, said Steffen, currently uses far more electricity than we generate.<\/p>\n

\u201cFurthermore, we are seeing the removal of coal as a long-term energy source,\u201d he said. Twenty-five years ago, 63% of the state\u2019s energy came from coal. \u201cBy 2030, it will be down to 16%, so we will be dropping off one of the major sources of energy production.\u201d<\/p>\n

The resolution, which the Badger Institute supports, cites growing energy demands as well as achieving reduced carbon emission goals, creating high-paying jobs, and spurring development and investment.<\/p>\n

Wisconsin currently has only one operating nuclear power plant,\u202fthe Point Beach Nuclear Plant north of Two Rivers that produces about 16% of the electricity generated in Wisconsin.\u00a0We also have one closed but intact plant, Kewaunee Power Station, 4 miles to the north of Point Beach.<\/p>\n

Either site could accommodate a new reactor of about 1,100 megawatts, approximately the current output of Point Beach, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. One such reactor at each site would about triple the power<\/a> available to Wisconsinites from nuclear generation.<\/p>\n

Steffen said the resolution is meant to encompass the consideration of both expanding traditional nuclear energy and adopting next-generation advanced technology, which includes small modular reactors<\/a>, as well as fusion.<\/p>\n

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New reactors are \u201csmaller, safer, cleaner, use a different isotope \u2014 a real game-changer for energy production,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Fusion is the \u201choly grail,\u201d he said, but \u201cI don\u2019t think it is a matter of whether it is possible. It is a matter of timing. Is it going to be ten years? Or twenty?\u201d<\/p>\n

The resolution states that legislators \u201csupport nuclear power and fusion energy as clean energy sources that are critical to safely meeting Wisconsin\u2019s growing energy demands\u201d and that the state will \u201cemploy the leadership and resources necessary to support the development and investment of nuclear power, fusion energy and related technologies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steffen said the next step will be a discussion of a siting study and a 2028 World Nuclear Summit here in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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For more reading<\/span>:<\/h5>\n

Opportunities:<\/strong> The Biden administration surveyed spots where more nuclear capacity could go, finding some in Wisconsin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Running short:<\/strong> Just as demand for electricity in Wisconsin seems set to skyrocket, the Midwest regional grid says it could run short<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fuel sources:<\/strong> Where Wisconsin gets the energy<\/a> to turn its power-plant generators.<\/p>\n

Reliability:<\/strong> How much electricity do energy sources actually produce<\/a> compared to their promises?<\/p>\n

Upward:<\/strong> The average Wisconsin home\u2019s electricity bill, and its trajectory<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Mike Nichols is the President of the Badger Institute.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Any\u202fuse or reproduction of Badger Institute articles or photographs requires prior written\u202fpermission.\u202fTo request permission to post articles on a website or print copies for distribution, contact Badger Institute President Mike Nichols at\u202f<\/em>mike@badgerinstitute.org<\/em><\/a>\u202for 262-389-8239.<\/em><\/p>\n

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