March 15, 2008

* Commercial wind energy project by Wisconsin schools

June 4, 2007

Wisconsin legislature - nuclear power renaissance battle will kick off in August

After more than a year of special study into the future of nuclear power by the state of Wisconsin's Joint Legislative Council, three bills were introduced last month in the Wisconsin legislature -- AB 346, AB 347 and AB 348, which respectively repeal current limits on nuclear power plant construction, require the investigation of future electric supplies after the operating licenses of two existing nuclear power plants in the state expire, and require state advocacy of a federal repository for high-level radioactive waste. If all the voting and vetoing were done today, the bills wouldn't stand a chance. But the next legislative step isn't until August. All sides agree that concerns about GHG emissions and climate change are elevating the push for and debate over nuclear power expansion in the state to the highest levels to date. "It's kind of surprising -- we watch the issue every day and we're getting a sense that more and more people, legislators included, are being swayed that nuclear power is an answer," says a source with a Wisconsin ratepayer advocacy group that opposes nuclear energy. "Our contention is it is not. It's far more cost-effective to do energy efficiency and renewables." A source with one of Wisconsin's major environmental groups agrees, adding that lobbying efforts by pro-nuclear activists are proving effective to some degree. "I think that pro-nuclear forces are using climate change as a way to advance their agenda," the source says. "They have turned the corner -- they're using that argument fairly successfully with people who would probably have been opposed, or not as open, to the idea. I don't think nuclear power is a solution to climate change. But I definitely think it's a convenient thing for them to take advantage of." In addition to industrial energy consumers and labor unions representing construction and electrical workers, a number of University of Wisconsin researchers are helping lead the pro-nuclear charge, sources say. "The University of Wisconsin gets a lot of funding for research -- in their engineering and physics departments -- from the nuclear industry and the Department of Energy, and they are very active in politically pushing for nuclear power," the environmentalist says. "They've got time to build support, and we're ready for a fight." Meanwhile, three new coal-fired plants are being built in Wisconsin. Pro-nuclear voices will surely hammer away at the state's encouragement of CO2-emitting coal plants over clean, safe and economical nuclear plants.

[Ref: Curt Barry (Inside Washington Publishers), "Climate change propels Wisconsin bills to expand nuclear power", Carbon Control News, v1 n21, June 4, 2007]

December 28, 2005

* Wisconsin - 50 tritium exit signs (20-30 Ci each) presumed sent to landfill (Port Washington)

August 16, 2004

* Wisconsin - radiopharmacy spill of I-131 (50 mCi) [Madison WI]

February 22, 2004

Wisconsin court nixes gas plant, because wind wasn't considered seriously enough

Earlier this month, Dane County Circuit Judge Moria Krueger told the state Public Service Commission to start over and re-evaluate the environmental impact of two 545-megawatt power plants under construction in downtown Port Washington by Wisconsin Energy Corp. State law calls for the Public Service Commission to give preference to environmentally friendly forms of power generation when debating whether to approve power plant projects. The judge's ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Bob Owen of Middleton against the $650-million project because he believes the PSC has ignored this statute and given short shrift to recommendations of a state study on climate change issued more than five years ago. "It appears that the people that are appointed to the Public Service Commission have no interest whatsoever about whether there is a habitable planet for their children or their grandchildren. They never have taken global warming seriously. I consider it a severe threat, which is growing more and becoming more severe."

[Source: Thomas Content, "Wind-energy proponent proves he's a force to be reckoned with", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 22, 2004, p. 1D]

February 11, 2004

Yucca Mountain status should prompt rescinding Wisconsin's n-plant moratorium

A committee of the state Assembly has approved, by 9-3 vote, a bill to rescind the state ban on construction of new nuclear plants. The ban has been in place for 21 years, and remains in force until a permanent site for spent nuclear fuel is available. The projected opening of the Yucca Mountain storage facility in Nevada in 2010 would satisfy that requirement, said the bill's sponsor, Rep. Michael Huebsch (R-West Salem).

[Source: Laura Steele, "Measure would lift ban on building nuclear plants", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 11, 2004, p. 3D]

November 3, 2003

Wisconsin site a leading candidate for next spent fuel repository

While Yucca Mountain will help store existing waste, the site is not big enough to handle future waste generated by nuclear plants. That means another site will definitely be needed if more nuclear plants are built. Among the leading candidates: a rock repository along the Wolf River in northern Wisconsin.

[Source: The Journal Times (Racine, WI), "Analysis: What is the future of nuclear power?", November 3, 2003]

October 23, 2003

Nuclear Energy Conference: The future of nuclear energy in Wisconsin
was discussed during the University of Wisconsin Energy Policy Forum at the Monona Terrace Convention Center,

October 22nd-23rd, 2003

UW Nuclear Energy Conference papers available as pdf files

* Nuclear Energy: A Future Energy Source in Wisconsin (84 KB), Related Chart (90 KB), John Wiley, UW Chancellor

* Nuclear Power Safety (11 MB), Michael Corradini, UW-Madison

* Health Effects of Power Production Byproducts (4.5 MB), Paul DeLuca, UW-Madison

* Spent Fuel Transportation and Disposal (60 MB), Robert Budnitz, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

* Security of Nuclear Power Plants (120 KB), Richerd Meserve, Former USNRC Chairman

* Environmental Viability & Nuclear Power (22 MB), William Magwood, Director, Nuclear Energy DoE

* Advanced Reactor Technology and Hydrogen Production (7 MB), Lee Peddicord, Texas A&M University

* Nuclear Power: An Economic Alternative to Base-Load Electricity (3 MB), Kurt Yeager, President, EPRI

May 2, 2003

A representative of the following organization completed the NRC training course "Transportation of Radioactive Materials Course (H-308)" in Chattanooga, Tennessee on April 28-May 2, 2003:

Mr. Paul S. Schmidt, Chief