{"id":1998843,"date":"2023-08-12T14:19:05","date_gmt":"2023-08-12T18:19:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/governor-pritzker-vetos-bill-that-would-lift-moratorium-on-new-illinois-nuclear-plants\/"},"modified":"2023-08-12T14:26:44","modified_gmt":"2023-08-12T18:26:44","slug":"governor-pritzker-vetos-bill-that-would-lift-moratorium-on-new-illinois-nuclear-plants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/governor-pritzker-vetos-bill-that-would-lift-moratorium-on-new-illinois-nuclear-plants\/","title":{"rendered":"Governor Pritzker rejects bill to end ban on new Illinois nuclear plants."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgovernor-pritzker-vetos-bill-that-would-lift-moratorium-on-new-illinois-nuclear-plants%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1998843&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<h2>Illinois Governor Vetoes Bill to \u2062Revive \u200dNuclear Energy\u2062 Production<\/h2>\n<p>Illinois\u2019s Governor vetoed a bill that would make nuclear energy\u200c production possible again, even\u200b though the bill\u2062 garnered bipartisan and bicameral support in the state.<\/p>\n<p>The first reason given by Illinois \u200bGovernor Jay \u2062Robert Pritzker (D)\u200b was that nuclear\u200c reactors would be costly to build.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe bill is vetoed because the vague definitions \u2063in the bill, including the overly\u2063 broad definition of advanced reactors, will open the \u200ddoor to the proliferation of large-scale nuclear reactors that \u200bare\u200c so costly to build that they will cause <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/governor-pritzker-vetos-bill-that-would-lift-moratorium-on-new-illinois-nuclear-plants\/\" title=\"Governor Pritzker rejects bill to end ban on new Illinois nuclear plants.\">exorbitant ratepayer-funded bailouts<\/a>,\u201d Mr. Pritzker\u2019s office said, cited in a WTVO television report.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"mb-4 mr-4 w-full max-w-[500px] border border-[#D3D3D3] px-5 py-4 text-[16px] leading-[20px] text-[#262626] md:float-left\">\n<div class=\"mb-3 font-sans text-[16px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[19px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Related Stories<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n              <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/world\/in-depth-russia-burma-further-ties-with-nuclear-energy-deal-5395715\">IN-DEPTH: Russia, Burma Further\u200c Ties With Nuclear Energy Deal<\/a>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-[14px] leading-[18px] text-[#737373]\">7\/16\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n              <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/world\/finland-goes-nuclear-sees-energy-prices-drop-75-percent-5377355\">Finland Goes Nuclear, Sees Energy Prices Drop 75 Percent<\/a>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-[14px] leading-[18px] text-[#737373]\">7\/6\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cAdditionally, it provides \u200cno \u2062regulatory protections or updates to address \u200cthe \u200chealth and safety of Illinois residents who would live and \u200dwork around these new reactors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The\u200b first part of Mr. Pritzker\u2019s response is about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/were-off-track-heres-how-republicans-plan-to-move-the-needle-on-climate-change\/\" title=\"\u2018We\u2019re Off Track\u2019: Here\u2019s How Republicans Plan To Move The Needle On Climate Change\">advanced nuclear reactors<\/a>, which may refer to a new nuclear technology of\u2064 small nuclear reactors, \u2063according to Capitol\u2064 News Illinois.<\/p>\n<p>These <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bringing-dead-us-uranium-enrichment-industry-back-to-life-will-be-a-heavy-lift-but-needed-industry-leader\/\" title=\"Bringing Dead US Uranium Enrichment Industry Back to Life Will Be \u2018A Heavy Lift\u2019 But Needed: Industry Leader\">small modular reactors<\/a> (SMRs) have not been deployed \u2064yet anywhere \u200bin\u2062 the country, and only one design is \u2064approved by regulators in the United States.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/in-depth-the-rebirth-of-nuclear-power-the-push-to-make-nuclear-energy-cool-again-5417378?utm_source=open&#038;utm_medium=search\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New nuclear energy\u2063 technologies such as SMRs<\/a> and microreactors look to improve upon\u200c the large, clunky nuclear power\u200b plants of old with reactors \u200dthat have\u2062 a much smaller footprint and \u200dcould be applied in remote industrial operations, mining projects, military bases,\u2062 and disaster relief areas. SMRs could \u2062be in the size of a shipping container.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>A \u200dsign marks the entrance of the Exelon nuclear \u200bpower generating station in Braidwood,\u200b Ill., on March 17, 2006. \u2062(Scott Olson\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The second part of\u200c the governor\u2019s response mentions \u2062health concerns over nuclear\u2062 energy production.<\/p>\n<p>After nuclear fuel is used, it continues to emit potentially\u2062 hazardous radiation for tens of thousands of years. \u200dEventually, \u2063this spent fuel should be moved to a long-term disposal\u2064 facility, although no\u200d such facility has ever been designated or \u2062built in the\u200b U.S., Capitol News\u200b Illinois reported. \u201cThis means waste is often kept on-site at nuclear facilities\u2064 in pools\u2063 or in steel canisters designed to block radiation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The decades-old moratorium in \u2062Illinois, in other words, a prohibition on new nuclear energy \u200dplants, included a nuclear waste facility to solve health concerns, but it has \u2064never \u2063been \u200dbuilt. The ban has been\u200c in\u2064 place since 1987.<\/p>\n<p>The\u200b Illinois\u2063 state legislature passed the \u200cnow-vetoed bill\u200b S.B. 0076 in\u2062 May, a bill that would repeal the state\u2019s\u200b moratorium on new \u2063<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-certifies-first-small-modular-nuclear-reactor-design-for-use\/\" title=\"U.S. Certifies First Small Modular Nuclear Reactor Design for Use\">nuclear power plant construction<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>After\u200d passing the \u2063Senate in a 39-13 vote\u2062 on March\u2062 30,\u200b the\u200c legislation proceeded to the House,\u2064 where it was\u200b amended \u200cand approved 84\u201322 \u2064on May 18, then \u200dsent back to the \u200dSenate for\u200c concurrence. On May 19, the Senate agreed, 36-14\u200d to\u200b the proposed amendment, according to Nuclear Newswire. The bill then went to Gov. Pritzker\u2019s\u2062 office\u200d for the final decision.<\/p>\n<p>Governor Pritzker did not comment on the bill after its passage, but\u200c said some\u2064 words that seemed supportive,<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese \u2064are smaller, less prone to an accident, more likely\u2064 for us\u200b to\u2064 be able \u200cto maintain them for a \u200blong \u200bperiod of \u200ctime\u2014that\u2019s something that\u2019s worthy\u2063 of consideration,\u201d he \u2064said. \u2062\u201cNow the devil\u2019s \u2063in the details, and we want to make\u200d sure\u200d that we\u2019re not just opening this up\u200b to nuclear everywhere or any \u200dtype \u200cof nuclear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Proponents \u2064of the bill\u200c say that nuclear power is a \u2064clean \u2064form of energy, that aligns with Mr. Pritzker\u2019s Climate and Equitable\u200b Jobs Act, which \u200dputs Illinois\u2064 on a path of zero \u200cfossil fuel\u2064 by 2050. In their view, \u2062nuclear energy can provide\u2063 stable electricity when the sunlight \u200cis not enough or the wind \u200cdoes not\u2062 blow.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Power generating windmills above a nuclear\u2062 power plant operated by \u200cExelon near Marseilles, Ill., on June 13, 2018. (Scott Olson\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>According to the grid operators that\u2063 serve Illinois, the state will see an increase of 20 percent in electricity demand in the next 15 years.<\/p>\n<p>Nuclear \u2062advocates say that relying\u2064 solely on \u2062renewable\u200b energy to meet this demand would \u200dbe \u200cprohibitively \u2062expensive.\u2063 A report commissioned by the Nuclear Energy\u2063 Institute estimated that aggressive\u2062 deployment of new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/great-reset-delayed-belgium-delays-killing-nuclear-over-chaotic-geopolitical-environment\/\" title=\"Great Reset Delayed: Belgium Delays Killing Nuclear over 'Chaotic Geopolitical Environment'\">nuclear power generation<\/a> could save customers \u200d$449\u2064 billion between\u200c now and 2050 if the\u200c nation meets\u2062 its carbon-free \u200denergy goals.<\/p>\n<p>Nuclear construction was mostly abandoned in the United States \u2063after\u2064 the 1980s. In Illinois, there are 11 operating nuclear power\u2064 reactors at six sites.<\/p>\n<h2>The Bill\u2019s\u200c Details<\/h2>\n<p>Introduced on January 20 by Sen. Sue Rezin (R), S.B.\u2064 0076 \u2063deletes language in\u200b the Illinois\u2062 Public Utilities Act \u2063that \u200bforbids nuclear plant construction in the state until the Illinois Environmental Protection \u2063Agency determines that the \u200cfederal government \u201chas identified\u200b and\u2062 approved a demonstrable technology or means for the disposal <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Illinois Governor Jay Robert Pritzker (D) vetoed a bill with bipartisan and bicameral support, preventing the revival of nuclear energy production. He cited the high costs of constructing nuclear reactors and the bill&#8217;s ambiguous definitions as reasons for the veto.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1763,"featured_media":1998844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1998843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1998843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1763"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1998843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1998843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1998844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1998843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1998843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1998843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}