Nuclear Energy On The Agenda In Wisconsin

In Wisconsin, a group of legislators in Madison is looking to amend the state's Nuclear Plant Construction Statute, in order to pave the way for the possible construction of a new plant:

State lawmakers will renew their efforts to allow construction of new nuclear power plants by next fall, according to Rep. Phil Montgomery (R-Ashwaubenon).

"When we had a hearing on the bill (last year), we did not have enough votes to pass it" in the Assembly, said Montgomery, chairman of the Assembly's Energy and Utilities Committee. "We will be introducing it again. Unfortunately, when you speak of lifting the moratorium, there is a great deal of passion regarding the subject and a great deal of misinformation."

Montgomery said that the statute's provisions are unreasonable. He predicts that legislation to repeal the law will be drawn up by next fall.

"The restrictions on it are so out of line with reality that you could never meet them, and that was done intentionally," Montgomery said.

Wisconsin is also home to an innovative program to build and finance new baseload electrical generation called "Power The Future." Last November, in a speech at the 2004 NARUC Conference, former NEI President and CEO Joe Colvin praised the program as an good example of policy innovation on the state level that should be emulated elsewhere.

In other Wisconsin news, the state PSC today voted 3-0 to approve the sale of Kewaunee nuclear power plant to Dominion.

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