PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 12, 2025
Several bills pending in Augusta are aimed at reviving nuclear power in the state. One bill (L.D. 342, sponsored by Rep. Reagan Paul, R-Winterport) would shove nuclear energy into Maine’s Renewable Portfolio Standard. Nuclear energy is not renewable. Another bill sponsored by Rep. Paul (L.D. 343) would order the Public Utilities Commission to investigate small modular reactors, which basically are the same as older mega reactors, including generating radioactive waste. Yet another pro-nuclear bill would prohibit a community’s right to veto construction of a nuclear facility in its backyard. There still are no permanent disposal facilities for the nation’s more than 90,000 metric tons of nuke-generated radioactive waste. It is held in Wiscasset and about 100 other sites around the nation. Maine has developed a robust climate action plan for true renewable energy. Let’s not let a raft of “foot-in-the-door” bills detour Maine from that path. ~ Cathy Wolff, Kittery