A state senator in Washington, Sharon Brown, R-Kennewick, is promoting nuclear energy with a focus on technology that has yet to be put into operation.
Bills that Brown have sponsored nudge the state towards acceptance of modular, factory-built nuclear reactors, The Olympian reported Tuesday.
Brown has called for a relatively modest $176,000 study to identify sites for nuclear power reactors that are in frequent discussions, but have yet to be built – reactors with a generation capacity of 300 MW or less.
In neighboring Oregon, NuScale Power is developing reactors that will built in one location and shipped by truck or rail to their final destination
“We need to make sure we're not left behind,” said Brown at a hearing Tuesday. She also said, “It's really important that as a state we get our arms around small nuclear reactors.”
Brown, who is pushing the state to nudge the federal government on construction of a federal waste repository, has sponsored other nuclear power-friendly bills that cleared a critical deadline last week. These include a bill to provide sales tax relief for small reactor production and one that mandates the Commerce Department support small reactors development for commercial use.
She has also sponsored measures that would allow energy from modular reactors to count as part of the state's renewable energy targets, although these initiatives have strong opposition from environment groups.
The initiatives follow up on a previous state study, completed in September, that said a modular reactor facility was feasible for the Hanford Site nuclear facility.
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