Wisconsin lifts 33-year ban on new nuclear power plants

The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) announced on Tuesday that Wisconsin has lifted a 33-year ban on the development of new nuclear facilities throughout the state.

Assembly Bill 384 repealed the original moratorium that banned the technology. Nuclear energy engineering students at the University of Wisconsin initially proposed the bill, which was supported by numerous political representatives and signed by Gov. Scott Walker.

“The legislation’s strong bipartisan support owes heavily to the broad, diverse coalition of supporters who mobilized in favor of the moratorium repeal,” NEI Senior VP of Governmental Affairs Alex Flint said. “It brought together Wisconsin’s skilled building and construction trades, the business and manufacturing community, and longtime environmental activists, who recognize the important role played by the existing nuclear capacity in serving the state’s economic, electricity reliability, and clean air priorities. They were united in urging that nuclear energy should be an available option in meeting future energy demand growth.”

The state has relied on a single nuclear energy facility, the twin-reactor Point Beach Nuclear Plant, for more than 30 years. The plant produces approximately 15 percent of the total electricity for the state, while 75 percent of total statewide energy is sourced from fossil fuels.