HB 2215 Refers nuclear power plants to voters

02/11/2023
VOTE:YES – Died in Committee
Status (overview) of bill:https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1/Measures/Overview/HB2215
This bill would refer to voters the question if they want to make approving clean nuclear power plants easier in Oregon.

Nuclear power is the key to a clean energy future. Solar panels and windmills alone won’t provide enough energy, and Oregon doesn’t recognize hydropower as renewable.

According to the Oregon Department of Energy, the Columbia Generating Station in Washington State provides Oregon’s nuclear power and the Bonneville Power Administration markets the electricity it produces.

Oregon’s Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC) may issue site certificates for nuclear-fueled thermal power plants, but only after finding that an adequate repository for the disposal of the high-level radioactive waste produced by the plant has been licensed to operate by the appropriate agency of the federal government (ORS 469.595). If an adequate repository exists and is licensed, the nuclear-fueled thermal power plant site certificate proposal must be approved or rejected by Oregon voters at the next available statewide general election (ORS 469.597).

House Bill 2215 would repeal Oregon Revised Statutes relating to nuclear-fueled thermal power plants and require the Act to be referred to the people for their approval or rejection.