Vote on nuclear power in Minnesota expected tonight
A bill to lift restrictions on construction of nuclear power plants in Minnesota is expected to get a vote this evening (March 26) in a House energy committee.
Last night, a joint House/Senate committee listened to nuclear power advocates and critics — one union official indicated that a resurgence of American nuclear power plant construction means jobs.
Some 585,000-linear feet of piping would need to be fitted, said Jerome O’Leary, of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry.
But Arjun Makhijani, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, pointed to France, which is heavily reliant on nuclear power, as an example of the incomplete nuclear equation. The French, he argued, have never solved the problem of what to do with nuclear waste.
Indeed, Makhijani, who managed to be funny while talking about deep subjects, argued that attempts at reprocessing nuclear waste has met with limited success and produces degraded fuel for nuclear plants.
He also argued that since American hadn’t built new nuclear plants in decades, the skilled workforce to do so was limited. Because of this, only about 30 new nuclear power plants could be built by 2030, he said.
Minnesota gets about 24 percent of its electricity from nuclear power. The nuclear industry heralds the technology as being virtually emissions free and reliable.
Makhijani quipped that people who wanted more nuclear power plants already had a free one 93 million miles away — the sun.
In his research, Makhijani concluded, he became convinced that America could bet on alternative energy for its energy future.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty favors lifting the current moratorium nuclear plant construction in Minnesota.
