LANSING, Mich. (WZMQ) – State lawmakers are looking to make Michgian a better place for nuclear energy. Bipartisan bills have been reintroduced in the state House of Representatives to create tax credits and university grants that incentivize nuclear research and energy production.
Michigan’s Healthy Climate Plan starts to phase out natural gas generation in 2030, giving lawmakers and state officials just 5 years to replace the plants that generate over 40% of the state’s energy.
To make up for the loss of base load energy, representatives have introduced 6 bills with hopes of boosting the state’s nuclear energy production and workforce.
The first three bills create tax credits for small modular reactor generated power, and research and development expenses for nuclear reactors. Small modular technology is still new and can be expensive, lawmakers say that’s why it’s so important to invest in research to bring down costs.
Representative Joey Andrews (D- St. Joseph) is one of the authors on the second three bills. They would create grants for universities that establish nuclear and hydrogen energy education programs, and start a grant and tax credit program for new graduates who commit to working in the nuclear or hydrogen fields for 3 years.
“Small modular reactors are really compact, you can place them in a wider variety of geographies and size them to what you need. For the central U.P. you’ve got Marquette and all of that, maybe you need a little bit of a larger reactor there for the population.” Andrews said. “If you’re on the west end, or you’re in Sault Ste. Marie on the east side you might not need all of that electricity, you can use a smaller reactor to provide the base load there.”
The bills saw a hearing in the House Energy Committee on March 4th, but they still need a vote in the full House and Senate before they’ll become law.
U.P. representatives are supporting the bills, and said nuclear energy could be the key to keeping utility costs down, and replacing natural gas up north.
