Wisconsin could lift new-build moratorium

01 February 2007

[Platts, 31 January] A legislative panel of the Wisconsin state government has endorsed a draft bill that would repeal the state's moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power reactors. The move opens the way for a bill removing the moratorium to be introduced. Wisconsin's Nuclear Plant Construction Statute - passed in 1983 - does not expressly forbid the construction of new reactors, but it does require that any new reactors be economically viable and that a federal facility, such as Yucca Mountain, be available and ready to accept spent fuel. Although the waste issue is expected to remain a key issue in any debate on the moratorium, there is support for the use of nuclear as part of Wisconsin's future energy mix. A bill introduced in 2004 to lift the state's moratorium on the construction of new reactors did not get enough votes.

Further information

Wisconsin state government

---