TRENTON – The Senate Environment and Energy Committee advanced legislation from its chair, Senator Bob Smith, and Senator Joe Pennacchio that would establish a Nuclear Power Advisory Commission in the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to conduct a study and prepare a report on the role that nuclear energy power plants should play in the state’s energy future.
“With both rising costs and increased demand for electricity, New Jersey needs to explore all manners of increasing our production capacity without contributing to climate change through new fossil fuel burning facilities,” said Senator Smith (D-Middlesex/Somerset). “Properly regulated nuclear power is reliable, safe, and most importantly does not emit greenhouse gases. This Commission will more thoroughly explore the role nuclear energy ought to play in our clean energy future and help us determine how to integrate nuclear energy with our wider energy needs and climate goals.”
The bill, S-220 would establish the Nuclear Power Advisory Commission to consider:
- the role nuclear energy generation plays in the state’s energy portfolio, including the value of it as a reliable, zero-emission source of energy and in meeting the state’s climate goals;
- the impact the closure of existing, licensed, and operating nuclear energy power plants within and outside the state would have on the reliability of the energy grid, the state’s air quality, and the price of electricity;
- emerging technologies in reactor designs and the viability of small-scale nuclear energy power plants; and
- actions by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other states concerning nuclear energy generation.
The Commission would be required to submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature within 18 months of the enactment of the bill that summarizes its study and that contains recommendations on the role of nuclear energy power plants in the state’s energy portfolio. The Commission would consist of nine members, as follows:
- the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, or the Commissioner’s designee;
- the President of the Board of Public Utilities, or their designee;
- the President of the New Jersey Utilities Association, or their designee; and
- six members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, with one representing the state’s nuclear energy power plants, two from the state’s academic community with expertise or knowledge of energy issues, one member from statewide environmental organizations with expertise or knowledge of energy issues, one member from the business community, and one member from a labor organization.