Nuclear at a Crossroads: Does nuclear power stand a chance in Minnesota amid a moratorium and carbon-free mandate?

The DFL-led Legislature and Gov. Tim Walz made national news earlier this year by announcing that all Minnesota energy utilities have 17 years to fully decarbonize.

By 2040, all of the state’s power must come from carbon-free sources. Solar, hydro and wind generation are being deployed at break-neck speed, but there’s one black sheep in the carbon-free family: nuclear power, the fissioning of uranium atoms to create heat that ultimately turns a steam turbine and produces electricity.

Minnesota was the site of one of the country’s first rural atomic plants. In 1969 the state stirred national debate with an attempt to set new, state-specific regulations, inciting, at least in part, the abolition of the Atomic Energy Commission.

Read the full article here.