Selling out Wisconsin to nuclear industry

Sens. Jennifer Shilling and Julie Lassa, both of you voted in favor of AB384. 

I am sorry but I cannot let this pass without calling you to account.  

My belief is that each of you understood but just didn’t care that: 

1) Wisconsin has a contested case system/process in which a utility makes an application to the PSC. The PSC will consider the proposal. If there is not a competing proposal, the one presented will probably be approved. It will probably be approved even if there are solutions higher up on Wisconsin’s energy priorities list. So, now nuclear generation has a place in Wisconsin energy priorities. 

2) the PSC will not have to consider decommissioning costs of nuclear generation but it does have to consider decommissioning costs for wind generation. 

3) along with hiding decommissioning costs for nuclear generation other significant costs of nuclear generation will now be hidden. This is the part about being burdensome to ratepayers; now the burden can be hidden. 

4) new nuclear generation would produce new nuclear waste that there is no permanent solution for. Solutions have to be for hundreds of thousands of years. What arrogance and irresponsibility! 

The proponents talked about the bill being for advanced nuclear but it is not for the most advanced. It allows generation III if my memory serves me correctly; it does not require generation IV nor does it holdout for commercial aneutronic fusion. It settles for lesser technology that has been marketed as “advanced.” 

The proponents talked about recycling nuclear waste, of using it as fuel. Past, present and future capabilities were blurred. So much of what proponents spoke about hasn’t been developed; it is being worked on.  

I think you and many of the other senators who voted for AB384 knew better.

Nevertheless, you sold Wisconsin out.  

If you care to explain your vote, I am all ears.  

John Dunn, Mauston