A moratorium on new nuclear power plants may come to an end in Minnesota, where the state's Senate recently voted to lift the ban, and the editorial board of state's largest newspaper on Wednesday endorsed the legislation.
“Minnesota has boxed itself into an energy policy corner with statutes that effectively eliminate new coal and nuclear plants — the two traditional workhorses of baseload power generation,” read the editorial in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “With coal's critical link to global warming, the state's 17-year-old moratorium on new nuclear power plants has become a relic. It's time to lift it so utilities and policymakers can seriously consider this clean, reliable alternative to coal in years to come.”
The bill's passage is anything but certain. Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, a Democrat, opposes the measure, and a similar bill failed in the legislature last year.
Meanwhile, Missouri legislators this week considered a request by electric utilities to charge ratepayers for permitting costs associated with building a second nuclear plant in the state. It would negate a 1976 state law that prohibits utilities from charging their customers for power plants that have not yet started producing electricity. While Democratic Governor Jay Nixon supports the measure, some of Missouri's largest employers testified against it this week.
In Indiana, similar legislation also pits state utilities against their customers. A bill advancing in the legislature there would encourage construction of nuclear plants by allowing utilities to collect more of the construction and permitting costs from ratepayers upfront. Opponents worry the bill would add to electric bills and allow utilities to recover permitting costs for nuclear plants that are never completed. Supporters frame the measure in the broader context of introducing nuclear construction to the state as the industry enjoys renewed interest around the country.