Nukes in Wisconsin Not Likely
Republicans distort nuclear power recommendations
Gov. Jim Doyle is following John McCain’s lead into a nuclear future, the Republican Party of Wisconsin crowed last week. Nuclear supporters claimed that Doyle, who’s seeking to become a green governor, wants to end the 25-year-old moratorium on building nuclear power plants in Wisconsin.
“After
years of opposition to nuclear energy it appears Gov. Jim Doyle became
the first Democrat to abandon Barack Obama’s ‘no’ policy as Americans
continue to struggle with high energy prices,” state Republican Party
Chair Reince Priebus claimed in a press release. “Now willing to lift
the nuclear moratorium, Doyle’s stance is more in line with Senator
John McCain, who has called for 45 new nuclear power plants in the United States
by 2030. We support Doyle’s willingness to follow McCain’s leadership
as he listens to Wisconsinites in need of a solution to our energy
crisis.”
“It’s good to see Senator McCain’s message of expanding the use of nuclear power is resonating in Wisconsin,” Republican Congressman Paul Ryan chimed in. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel piled on with the headline: “Doyle favors lifting nuclear moratorium.”
The
problem, though, is that this simply isn’t true. Doyle, a strong
supporter of Obama, is not suddenly embracing McCain’s longtime love
for nuclear power.
The governor supports a recommendation from his Global Warming Task Force, which would “modify Wisconsin’s
current moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants to
allow this option to be considered in the future,” the report states.
The
key word is “modify.” Not “lift.” “It doesn’t repeal the moratorium,”
said Doyle spokesman Lee Sensenbrenner. “It’s not a green light for
nuclear plants.”
Changes Could Strengthen the Moratorium
Currently, before a new nuclear plant can be constructed, a federally licensed repository—such as Yucca Mountain, near Las Vegas—must be available to take in all of Wisconsin’s nuclear waste. Right now, nuclear waste is kept on-site at Wisconsin’s individual facilities, since no federally licensed repository exists.
In addition, the state Public Service Commission (PSC) must find that a new nuclear plant must be “economically advantageous” to Wisconsin ratepayers. Those conditions could be modified if the recommendations from Governor’s Task Force on Global Warming are put into place.
The Task Force recommended that new nuclear plants could be considered if—and only if: Its recommended policies for conservation, efficiency and renewable energy are in place first The PSC finds that a new nuclear power plant is “safe, economic and in the public interest” The electricity is either generated by or sold to a Wisconsin utility, and the power is sold to electricity customers in the state.
Charlie Higley of Wisconsin Citizens Utility Board said that contrary to the Republican Party’s claims, these recommendations actually strengthen the current restrictions on nuclear power in Wisconsin in a number of ways. Yucca Mountain could have a federal license in three years, and that could be good enough to satisfy the moratorium restriction for Wisconsin, Higley argued, since the state doesn’t require that the facility be constructed and ready to take in nuclear waste. Higley said that under the new recommendations, a new plant would have to have some sort of safe, long-term plan to deal with its nuclear waste before it received a permit in Wisconsin.
Higley noted that nuclear power plants may have a less expensive fuel source than, say, coal or natural gas plants, but that nuclear plants are far more expensive to construct. That would make the “economic” bar difficult to clear, unless a proposed plant received huge subsidies from the federal government.
Interestingly, while McCain plans to put the country “on track” to build 45 new nuclear plants by 2030, he doesn’t say how that would be paid for. But his 2007 energy bill—which died in Congress—contained an estimated $3.7 billion in federal subsidies for nuclear power companies.
“Nuclear has never been the cheaper alternative,” Higley said. “I don’t know why politicians like to propose things that are going to cost their constituents money.”
Not Anytime Soon
Higley
said that the nuclear recommendation was only a small piece of the
Task Force’s proposals, and that other goals must be met before the
nuclear option could even be considered.
“All of [the nuclear
recommendations] could only take place if we invest in energy
efficiency as recommended by the Task Force and if Wisconsin
implements stronger requirements for renewable energy,” Higley said.
Sensenbrenner, from Doyle’s office, said that’s the larger point that’s
being missed.
“The Task Force is saying two main points,”
Sensenbrenner said. “One is that there are two steps that you can take
right now that are more effective, really positive steps. Those steps
are energy efficiency and conservation, and then moving toward a
renewable, homegrown energy portfolio.”
Not only that, but the
recommendations are just that—recommendations. Some of the Task Force’s
proposals require a change in statutes or administrative rules, so
state agencies and the state Legislature would have to approve them.
Sensenbrenner said Doyle is considering how to move forward and would develop an “action plan” perhaps as early as this week. “There are many steps that will require some sort of approval, so it’s a question of how to package it and move it all for ward,” Sensenbrenner said.
Higley
predicted that one huge energy bill that includes nuclear power would
be introduced in the state Legislature next year. “It’s hard to stop a
freight train,” Higley said. “The individual pieces might not make it
but if they’re wrapped in one bill they all may make it.”
What’s your take? Write: editor@shepex.com or comment on this story online at www.expressmilwaukee.com.
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