Gov. Ever Signs Bills That Aim To Restart Nuclear Power in Wisconsin

Point Beach Nuclear Plant, circa 1973. (Public Domain).

Gov. Tony Evers signed a pair of bipartisan bills Wednesday that could strengthen nuclear power in Wisconsin.

One of the bills orders a $2 million study to find the best location for a nuclear fusion power plant in the state.

Another creates a new board to advance nuclear power and fusion technology in Wisconsin and hosts a national summit in Madison in 2028.

Evers said the state must continue looking for ways to help lower its energy costs and reduce its dependence on out-of-state energy sources.

Wisconsin currently uses about six times more energy than it produces, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. 

“We can’t afford to choose between mitigating climate change and protecting our environment or creating good-paying jobs and building a strong economy, and by working toward clean energy options Wisconsinites can depend on in the future, we’re doing both,” Evers said in a statement.

The bills were co-authored by Sen. Julian Bradley, R-New Berlin, and Reps. David Steffen, R-Howard, and Shae Sortwell, R-Two Rivers.

Lawmakers say expanding nuclear power in Wisconsin would bring clean energy and high-paying jobs to the state.

“Not only on the construction side, but with these new, next-generation reactors, which are much smaller, cleaner and safer,” Steffen said. “And they are a necessary part of next-generation manufacturing and technology. So if we want to be a part of that revolution, including the AI revolution, we need to have the energy to support it.”

Mount Pleasant, Port Washington, Kenosha and Beaver Dam are planning to build large, artificial intelligence-focused data centers for companies like Microsoft and Meta.

Individual projects could occupy upwards of 1,000 acres and use energy loads equivalent to the entire city of Milwaukee.

“It’s critically important for our current customers, as well as our larger future customers, including the AI centers that are coming to Wisconsin, that we have reliable, clean energy available,” Steffen said.

In addition to creating a study to find the best site for a nuclear power plant, the bill passed this week will also ensure the Public Service Commission moves fast on approvals.

The law establishes an 18-month timeline to begin construction on the site once one is chosen, Sortwell said.

The Kewaunee Power Station stopped generating power in 2013.

Now the owner of the plant in northeastern Wisconsin is working with WEC Energy Group, the parent company of We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service, to get it back online.

Sortwell said he believes the Kewaunee location will likely be the site chosen. But he says other locations, like Dairyland Power Cooperative in Genoa, which generated nuclear power for 18 years until it was shut down in 1987, could also be considered.

“We’re on the cusp of just a huge expansion of power across the United States, not only with the advent of AI, but with data in general,” Sortwell said. “And so when we’re looking at doubling the demand for power for Wisconsin over the next decade, and with people wanting to have emissions-free energy, that is good base load, reliable energy, you can’t get better than nuclear power.”

Gov. Tony Evers signs bills bolstering nuclear power in Wisconsin was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.