Bill Text: NJ SR40 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Supports nuclear power and urges Congress to support 10- to 20-year plan for facilitating construction of nuclear power plants that can be put in place within six months.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-02-06 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Environment and Energy Committee [SR40 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-SR40-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator STEVEN V. OROHO
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
SYNOPSIS
Supports nuclear power and urges Congress to support 10- to 20-year plan for facilitating construction of nuclear power plants that can be put in place within six months.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Senate Resolution supporting nuclear power and urging Congress to support a 10- to 20-year plan for facilitating the construction of nuclear power plants that can be put in place within six months.
Whereas, As New Jersey's population and energy consumption grows, expansion of the State's electric generating capacity will be necessary to ensure that energy supply keeps pace with rising demand, and any such expansion should be accomplished in a manner that is most beneficial to the State, taking into consideration the cost to consumers, the efficiency of proposed energy production methods, and any associated environmental impacts; and
Whereas, Nuclear power is a form of electric generation that does not produce carbon dioxide or any other greenhouse gas emissions while other sources of power either emit greenhouse gases or are inadequate to meeting New Jersey's need for reliable and plentiful energy supplies; and
Whereas, New Jersey's Energy Master Plan, as adopted in 2008, states that New Jersey should increase the "supply of low carbon emitting, reliable and reasonably priced energy," in part, through the expansion of nuclear power production and the development of new nuclear power technologies; and
Whereas, Nuclear power plants have operated safely in the United States for more than 50 years without loss of life from the accidental release of radiation; and
Whereas, Nuclear power generation is an extremely efficient method of energy production, and research by scientists and engineers has concluded that modern reactor designs hold out the potential for safer, more efficient, and less costly construction than past designs; and
Whereas, President Barack Obama has determined that nuclear power should be considered as an important source of energy and for expanding the economy, creating jobs, and reducing emissions of greenhouse gases; and
Whereas, Acting on this determination, on February 16, 2010, President Obama announced that, under the authority granted pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") offered conditional commitments for a total of $8.33 billion in loan guarantees for the construction and operation of two new nuclear reactors at a plant in Burke, Georgia, a project that will be the first U.S. nuclear power plant to break ground in nearly three decades; and
Whereas, Further, the President's 2011 Budget provides $36 billion in new loan authority, for a total of $54.5 billion, to expand support for DOE loan guarantees for constructing nuclear power facilities; and
Whereas, Absent further expansion of the nuclear power industry in New Jersey, the loss of any of the State's currently operational nuclear power facilities, due to either functional obsolescence or the denial of license extension applications, would be devastating to the State's power generating capacity, would negatively impact nearby communities, and would also have a detrimental effect on the environment since the State would be unable to replace its nuclear power generation with enough renewable energy resources, which are currently sufficient to supply only 3% of New Jersey's electricity; and
Whereas, It is in the best interest of the State to encourage the safe and clean generation of nuclear power, to consider expanding nuclear power plants to meet the needs of the State, and to urge the U.S. Congress to support a 10- to 20-year plan for facilitating the construction of nuclear power plants that can be put in place within six months, which plan should be in addition to the Obama Administration's efforts to commit funding for nuclear power facility financing; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House supports the safe and clean generation of energy provided by nuclear power.
2. In support of nuclear power, this House urges:
a. The Department of Environmental Protection to identify sites where new reactors can be operated, taking into account environmental factors and the need for evacuation routes in the unlikely event of accident;
b. The Board of Public Utilities to publish estimates of (1) State energy needs for the next 20 years and detail what role nuclear power production can play in meeting those needs, and (2) the volume of greenhouse gases that will be released using our current energy sources, compared to what would happen if the State's electric generators converted completely to nuclear power plants from existing fossil fuel burning energy sources; and
c. The United States Congress to support a 10- to 20-year plan for facilitating the construction of nuclear power plants that can be put in place within six months. This plan should contemplate measures beyond the provision of the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 that authorizes the United States Department of Energy to issue loan guarantees for projects that avoid, reduce, or sequester air pollutants or emissions of greenhouse gases, and the Obama Administration's recent efforts to commit funding for nuclear power facility financing.
3. Duly authenticated copies of this resolution, signed by the President of the Senate and attested by the Secretary thereof, shall be transmitted to the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, the members of the Board of Public Utilities, the President and Vice President of the United States, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, and every member of Congress elected from this State.
STATEMENT
This Senate resolution supports the safe and clean generation of energy provided by nuclear power. In support of nuclear power, the resolution urges: 1) the Department of Environmental Protection to identify sites where new reactors can be operated, taking into account environmental factors and the need for evacuation routes in the unlikely event of accident; 2) the Board of Public Utilities to publish estimates of: (a) State energy needs for the next 20 years and detail what role nuclear power production can play in meeting those needs; and (b) the volume of greenhouse gases that will be released using our current energy sources, compared to what would happen if the State's electric generators converted completely to nuclear power plants from existing fossil fuel burning energy sources; and 3) the U.S. Congress to support a 10- to 20-year plan for facilitating the construction of nuclear power plants that can be put in place within six months. This plan should go beyond the U.S. Department of Energy's program of loan guarantees for projects that avoid, reduce, or sequester air pollutants or emissions of greenhouse gases.
