State legislation: Delaware delving into nuclear energy possibilities
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A bill that would create a nuclear energy task force in Delaware has passed the state Senate and is now being considered in the House of Representatives.
State Sen. Bryant Richardson (R., Dist. 21) is the primary sponsor of Senate Concurrent Resolution 18 to explore the adoption of small modular reactors in Delaware in hopes of reducing the amount of electricity the state currently imports and attracting tech companies hungry for energy to power data centers to support growing artificial intelligence technology.
“Nuclear energy, and specifically SMRs, presents an opportunity to provide Delaware with a stable, reliable, and carbon-free source of power,” Richardson said in a press release announcing the resolution. “By exploring this option, we can determine whether nuclear energy has a place in Delaware’s future and ensure that our residents and businesses have access to affordable and dependable electricity.”
Power sources: Currently, Delaware consumes almost 100 percent more energy than it produces, and it produces less total energy than any other state, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The state has a goal of sourcing 40 percent of its electricity retail sales from renewable energy sources by 2035, even though about 42 percent of households there use natural gas, as does nearly the same percentage of its industrial sector, the EIA reports.
Resolution 18 summarizes that Delaware imported 6.3 million megawatt-hours of electricity in 2023. The addition of just three 250-MW SMRs running at near-full capacity could eliminate the state’s need for such imports.
The resolution also states that “regional and federal energy agencies have warned of an impending electricity reliability crisis as baseload power plants are retired without reliable replacements.”
“The U.S. Department of Energy is evaluating 300 closed coal-fire plants, including the Indian River facility, as potential sites for SMR installation,” the summary continues.
A closer look: Richardson’s resolution calls for a 25-member task force, including eight representatives chosen by the governor. The rest will come from the public and private sectors, including energy experts, environmental specialists, business leaders, industry stakeholders, and policymakers. The task force would complete its study and deliver a report to state lawmakers by the end of 2025.
State Sen. Dave Sokola (D., Dist. 9) supported the resolution, but told talk radio WDEL that the task force should conduct a deeper energy investigation than just SMRs.
The study should explore “any energy tool that's in the box that's out that has a potential to keep a sufficient supply of energy for Delawareans,” Sokola said.
On April 3, following passage from the Senate into the House, an amendment was added to include the study of nuclear fusion energy generation technology by the task force. The resolution now sits with the House’s Natural Resources and Energy Committee for review.
Nuclear trending: Last year, 25 states passed legislation to support advanced nuclear energy. So far in 2025, more than 200 bills supportive of nuclear energy are being considered in statehouses across the country, Marc Nichol, executive director of new nuclear at the Nuclear Energy Institute, told the Associated Press in a March 28 article.
This story is the sixth in an ongoing series spotlighting various state legislative efforts to expand nuclear. Find out what Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Texas, and Colorado are doing to support nuclear.
