Illinois lawmakers OK new nuclear technology | Local News

December 2, 2023

124

[ad_1]

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Illinois House on Thursday approved development of new nuclear reactors, reversing a 1987 moratorium and sending to Gov. J.B. Pritzker a plan that addresses the Democrat’s safety concerns over the proposal.

The 98-8 vote to allow construction of so-called small modular reactors beginning in 2026 came a day after developers of the only such project approved by federal regulators pulled the plug because of rising costs.

The Illinois proposal is largely the same as one that earned overwhelming legislative approval but was vetoed by Pritzker last spring. It adds a study on the risks of new nuclear technology and puts a state agency in charge of oversight, issues missing from the original plan.

Thursday was the final day of the Legislature’s fall veto session, six days that saw a much lighter agenda than in recent years and which left on the table issues involving extending a private-school scholarship program and allowing legislative staff members to form a collective bargaining unit.

Small modular reactors limited to 300 megawatts or less would be allowed under the nuclear legislation in January 2026. That’s the same point at which a state study about the technology’s viability and safety risks is due. After that, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency would be responsible for overseeing decommissioning of reactors, environmental monitoring and emergency preparedness.

The legislation’s sponsor, Rep. Lance Yednock, a Democrat from Ottawa, said nuclear has to be part of the state’s mix of alternatives to fossil fuels in reaching its goal of carbon-free power production by 2045.

“You’ve had multiple energy facilities shut down and there are more on the way and that is forcing us to purchase dirty generated energy for a higher price from out of state,” Yednock said. “We need to be the leader in clean energy generation and small modular nuclear reactors are a potential part of that portfolio.”

On Wednesday, designers of a major development in the so-called advanced nuclear industry called it quits because of rising costs. NuScale had planned a campus of six 77-megawatt small modular reactors to come online in 2029 in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

NuScale is the first small modular project to get federal approval and there are 20 more pending, said Sen. Sue Rezin, the Morris Republican who sponsored the Illinois legislation in the Senate. With time and technological improvement, she said, costs will drop.

Environmentalists have opposed the plan for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the lack of national consensus on storing nuclear waste, a major driver of the moratorium nearly four decades ago.

Rep. Lilian Jimenez, a Chicago Democrat who voted “no,” also argued that the state study on safety risks should be completed and digested before ditching the moratorium.

“Illinois has plenty of time to assess the risks and costs before deciding to open the door to these projects,” Jimenez said.

[ad_2]

Source link