Reps. Doyle, Lamb introduce nuclear power legislation

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U.S. Reps. Mike Doyle (D-PA) and Conor Lamb (D-PA) introduced legislation Friday that would promote the commercial deployment of advanced nuclear reactors on the sites of former fossil fuel plants.

Co-sponsored by Reps. Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH) and Byron Donalds (R-FL), the bipartisan legislation would prioritize reutilizing those sites and turning retired coal and fossil fuel facilities into nuclear power plants. Reutilization would also boost the economy in those areas.

“Nuclear energy provides carbon-free baseload power, and the advanced nuclear reactors being developed are safer, cheaper, and can work better for industry and for pairing with renewable energy,” Doyle. “As we create a cleaner energy grid, we must ensure that the communities that have kept the lights on for decades are not left behind – and advanced nuclear power plants can meet that need. These new nuclear technologies provide an opportunity to repurpose shuttered coal and fossil generating plants, bringing new high-paying jobs, economic opportunity, and long-term stability to communities that need it.”

Repurposing the plants would bring good, high-paying jobs to the area, the legislators said. The median annual wage for a nuclear power reactor operator is over $100,000 a year – one of the highest-paid positions in the electricity generation field. Additionally, the Congressman’s office said, for every 100 jobs generated by a nuclear power plant, another 66 community jobs are created.

“This bipartisan bill will help usher in the next wave of advanced nuclear reactors, providing carbon-free, reliable electricity and good jobs,” Lamb said. “Using our existing energy infrastructure and leveraging the federal government to spur innovation is a commonsense solution to a difficult problem.”

Identical legislation was introduced into the Senate by U.S. Sens. Joe Machin (D-WV) and John Barrasso (R-WY).