ANS Public Policy Engagement

A bill being considered in the Texas legislature would create a taxpayer-funded program to draw advanced nuclear projects to the state.

GOP state Rep. Cody Harris authored House Bill 14, which proposes use of public dollars to help fund nuclear construction, provide grants for reactors, and continue development research. The legislation would allocate up to $2 billion for a new Texas Advanced Nuclear Deployment Office and create within it a state coordinator position to assist in the state and federal permitting processes, according to Inside Climate News.

James Conca

I think so. The near future for nuclear depends on both the cabinet picks for Energy, Defense, Interior, and Commerce, and how well the new secretaries stick to the Project 2025 plan, the Heritage Foundation’s conservative blueprint for the future.

Those who want to read the entire 900-­page Mandate for Leadership can find it easily online. The section relating to nuclear power and waste begins on page 363: “Department of Energy and Related Commissions,” by Bernard L. McNamee. The nuclear weapons–related portions are scattered throughout.

It is obvious from the beginning of the chapter that McNamee doesn’t really understand the Department of Energy. He can be forgiven, since most people don’t. For the several months following their appointments, new energy secretaries generally fail to understand what the DOE does—except for real nuclear folks like Ernest Moniz, who held the position from 2013 to 2017. Most think that the DOE is all about energy, when really it is mostly about weapons and waste.

A bill that would fully repeal the state’s entire moratorium on new nuclear projects survived a key deadline in the Illinois General Assembly last week.

To stay afloat in the spring legislative session, bills needed to be assigned to committee by March 21, and state Sen. Sue Rezin’s Senate Bill 1527 now sits with the Senate’s Energy and Public Utilities committee for review.