INDIANAPOLIS – Nuclear power generation in Indiana got a boost Tuesday when Mike Pence – the GOP candidate for governor – said the time has come for it to be part of the conversation regarding Indiana’s future energy needs.
He said he has had some discussions with Indiana utilities about possible modular nuclear plants.
Pence said this new type of technology is not the same magnitude of a full-scale nuclear plant and “may well be an easier to sell to Hoosiers.”
According to energy.gov, small modular reactors are about one-third the size of current nuclear plants, have compact designs that are expected to offer a host of safety, siting, construction and economic benefits. Specifically, they could be made in factories and transported to sites where they would be ready to work upon arrival, reducing both capital costs and construction times.
Pence recalled when the troubled Marble Hill nuclear plant was abandoned in Indiana in the late 1970s and also the recent meltdown in Japan.
“We want to go into this process carefully and thoughtfully but when you look at much of the industrialized world today the technology, the safety record of nuclear energy is one that I think Hoosiers ought to be willing to look at. In addition to developing all of our traditional sources of energy and our renewable sources of energy,” he said. “We ought to look at adding nuclear energy to our portfolio if it’s economically feasible and keeps our energy costs low.”
Pence made his statements during and following an appearance at an annual energy management conference in Indianapolis.
