AUGUSTA, Maine – Maine Gov. Paul LePage has submitted legislation that would make it easier to site a small nuclear plant in Maine. The administration says it’s time to update the law that governs siting of nuclear plants in the state.
The proposal is drawing sharp opposition from environmentalists and other nuclear opponents.
The governor’s bill comes in two sections. One removes language saying that “investments in nuclear power plants have caused severe financial strain on consumers.” Energy Office Director Pat Woodcock says that’s not true, and that nuclear power plays an important role in Maine’s mix of energy sources.
[…]
“With the retirement of Vermont Yankee, the whole region is kind of scrambling to come up with, how do you replace a clean and stable power generating facility that is 650 megawatts?” Woodcock says.
But Woodcock’s assertion that nuclear power is clean is sharply disputed by Dylan Voorhees of the Natural Resources Council of Maine. Voorhees points out that spent fuel from the long closed Maine Yankee is still stored on the site, and that waste from any new plant would also have to have a safe place to be warehoused long after the plant stops operating.
Read more at Maine Governor Wants Nuclear Power Back on Energy Table
