Bipartisan support builds for studying nuclear power in Wisconsin

Wisconsin has just one nuclear power plant. Republican legislation, along with an initiative from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, could move the state toward more nuclear power.

The GOP-led Senate Bill 125, introduced in March, would require the state Public Service Commission, which regulates electric and gas utilities in Wisconsin, to conduct a nuclear power siting study. 

The study would identify nuclear power generation opportunities on existing power generation sites, as well as on sites not now used for power generation. 

It would help Wisconsin “catch up with other states that have already made important strides in exploring new nuclear energy,” said Paul Wilson, chair of the Department of Nuclear Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

State Sen. Julian Bradley, R-New Berlin, who introduced the bill, did not respond to requests for comment.

Groups registered in favor of the legislation include the Wisconsin Utilities Association and several employee unions. The PSC also supports the bill, noting that an amendment to the bill keeps the current timeline for the commission to review applications for such electricity generation.

Opponents include Sierra Club Wisconsin, which says nuclear power “poses significant risks due to its high costs, long construction timelines, unresolved radioactive waste issues and the potential for catastrophic accidents.”

The environmental group Clean Wisconsin says the nuclear industry, not taxpayers, should fund siting studies.

The effort to explore more nuclear energy is bipartisan in that, separately, Evers proposed in his 2025-27 state budget spending $1 million to do a nuclear power plant feasibility study. 

Evers, calling nuclear energy clean, said in a statement to Wisconsin Watch that “with new advanced nuclear technology and the increasing need for energy across Wisconsin, it is long past time that we invest in new, innovative industries and technologies.”

Wisconsin’s only operating nuclear power plant, Point Beach, is near the Manitowoc County community of Two Rivers.

A nuclear plant in Kewaunee shut down in 2013.

The Senate Committee on Utilities and Tourism approved SB 125 on May 6. No other votes have been scheduled.

This article first appeared on Wisconsin Watch and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.