State legislation: Colorado redefines nuclear as “clean energy resource”

Supporters maintain that House Bill 1040 is critical in helping the state achieve its clean energy goals. The new classification for nuclear puts it on the list with solar, wind, geothermal, and hydrogen in consideration of clean energy initiatives and funding. It also enables nuclear generation to count toward the state’s climate goal of having 100 percent net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The legislation points to nuclear as the “single largest source of carbon-free electricity generation in the United States and around the world, with 94 nuclear reactors in the U.S. alone generating about 50 percent of the country’s carbon-free electricity.”

A closer look: In previous legislative sessions, Republican State Rep. Larry Liston introduced similar nuclear bills only to see them stall out. This year the legislation garnered bipartisan support, especially from Democratic lawmakers hoping nuclear plants—namely, small modular reactors—could replace retiring coal-powered plants and replace jobs in areas of the state.

Democratic State Rep. Alex Valdez said his support grew as he researched clean energy sources to meet the state’s growing electricity demands—not just from households and electric cars, but from industrial needs, like data centers for emerging technologies, he told the Denver Post earlier this year.

The Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado (AGNC), backed by federal and state grants, are researching SMR deployment and nuclear fuel recycling, the Rocky Mountain Voice reported. Initial surveys conducted by the group found widespread public support for nuclear—especially among residents of communities facing job losses and energy instability due to coal plant retirements.

“Partisanship should not be part of the energy discussion,” Matt Solomon, a leading energy advocate with AGNC, told the Rocky Mountain Voice. “This is about securing our future.”

Opposition: In an open letter to the governor sent in March, 24 organizations and stakeholders urged Pollis to veto the bill. Signers included the Sierra Club of Colorado, Clean Energy Action, and the Colorado Renewable Energy Society.

“The idea that nuclear power is a clean energy source could not be further from the truth,” the letter states. “Nuclear power is the only energy resource that generates dangerous waste that will remain radioactive for thousands of years.”

The group adds, “The need to rapidly decarbonize our economy and transition to a clean energy source is a deeply urgent matter, and nuclear energy is a false solution that will divert urgently needed funds from renewable energy solutions.”

This story is the fifth in an ongoing series spotlighting various state legislative efforts to expand nuclear. Find out what Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, and Texas are doing to support nuclear.