Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Friday signed a bill that ended the state's moratorium on building new nuclear power plants, which had been on the state's statutes since 1983.
The laws that ended new nuclear plant projects mandated plants make use of a federal repository for nuclear waste, which was an effective deterrent for construction, given the absence of such a repository. The most substantive option in that regard was a repository that has long been planned for Yucca Mountain in Nevada, but that project has been grounded due to political opposition to it.
The other stipulation that was considered a deterrent to nuclear power was the mandate that it been economically neutral or beneficial to residents of the state. In so many words, their electric bills could not be adversely affected by a new power plant.
After several aborted efforts to change the laws, efforts attempted by both Republicans and Democrats, it is perhaps ironic that the there are now no plans on the horizon for a new nuclear plant project in the state.
There is one operating nuclear plant in Wisconsin, currently, the two-reactor Point Beach facility near Two Rivers, Wis.
While signing the bill, Gov. Walker noted that tough federal and state requirements and the absence of natural disasters that have affected other plants make the nuclear power option safe for Wisconsin.