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"Sen. Brooks McCabe, D-Kanawha, says it is time to strike the law that makes nuclear power plants illegal in West Virginia. CHARLESTON -- A state senator is once again asking his colleagues to lift a statewide ban on the construction of nuclear power plants, saying it needs to be done if West Virginia is going to be taken seriously as a leader in energy development. Sen. Brooks McCabe, D-Kanawha, is the lead sponsor of a bill that would strike out a provision in state law banning nuclear power plants. It is a repeat of similar legislation he introduced last year that passed the Senate but was shot down in the House of Delegates. No companies have proposed building a nuclear plant in West Virginia in the near future. But McCabe and other supporters of lifting the ban say all generation sources need to be considered as the nation's energy future. "

"West Virginia's official ban on the construction of nuclear power plants is staying put. After a lengthy discussion Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee by a lopsided voice vote gunned down a move to eliminate the prohibition. Sen. Dan Foster, D-Kanawha, who once lived near a nuclear installation in Tennessee, appeared to be the only senator in favor of the bill. A year ago, its chief proponent, Sen. Brooks McCabe, also D-Kanawha, succeeded in getting the ban removed in Gov. Joe Manchin's energy portfolio when it exited the Senate. "

Weakening Wisconsin laws regulating new nuclear reactors should not be part of a climate change bill. The Clean Energy Jobs Act, unveiled in the state Legislature recently, is a significant step toward addressing global warming while strengthening our state economy. Although much of the bill is a positive step to addressing global warming, it weakens Wisconsin's current law on building new nuclear reactors. Wisconsin's current law is common sense and protects citizens and the environment from radioactive nuclear waste, which poses considerable risks for tens thousands of years and contains plutonium, which can be used to make nuclear weapons if separated. Available renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies are faster, cheaper, safer and cleaner strategies for reducing greenhouse emissions than nuclear power.

Weakening Wisconsin laws regulating new nuclear reactors should not be part of a climate change bill. The Clean Energy Jobs Act, unveiled in the state Legislature recently, is a significant step toward addressing global warming while strengthening our state economy. Although much of the bill is a positive step to addressing global warming, it weakens Wisconsin's current law on building new nuclear reactors. Wisconsin's current law is common sense and protects citizens and the environment from radioactive nuclear waste, which poses considerable risks for tens thousands of years and contains plutonium, which can be used to make nuclear weapons if separated. Available renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies are faster, cheaper, safer and cleaner strategies for reducing greenhouse emissions than nuclear power.

"State Sen. Bob Leeper, I-Paducah, envisions the potential for a nuclear power plant in his Western Kentucky district, and on Wednesday that possibility moved a small step forward. The Senate's Natural Resources and Energy Committee approved a bill that would effectively end the quarter-century ban on nuclear power in Kentucky. "We must recognize the value of nuclear power," he told fellow committee members. And after one committee member - Sen. Ray Jones, D-Pikeville - said he saw the bill as a direct threat to Kentucky coal, Leeper said nuclear energy could be used to turn coal into liquid fuels."

"Legislation to lift Kentucky's ban on the construction of nuclear power plants steamed through the Senate on Wednesday but could get unplugged in the House. The bill, which cleared the Senate on a 27-10 vote, is backed by Gov. Steve Beshear but House Speaker Greg Stumbo said he doesn't think the measure will pass the House. State law currently prohibits a nuclear power plant from being built in Kentucky until there is a permanent storage facility to contain the nuclear waste. A proposed high-level radioactive waste facility at Yucca Mountain in Nevada has been discussed for years."

"Construction of nuclear power plants in Illinois could be permitted for the first time in more than 20 years under legislation that passed the state Senate today. Lawmakers closed the door to new nuclear construction in 1987, requiring federal standards for disposal of nuclear waste to be put in place before more plants could be added in the state. But modern lawmakers have tried to remove that requirement for several years with previously limited success. State Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-Moline, sponsored this year's Senate bill (HB3388). It sailed through the Senate Energy committee, which Jacobs chairs, and the full chamber. "

"Nuclear power plant construction in Wisconsin likely will be just as difficult to accomplish after the legislative session as it was before. "It's definitely disappointing," said state Rep. Jim Soletski, D-Green Bay. "I'm not saying we should ring Lake Michigan with 20 new plants, but we need to have the option on the table." Soletski and three other lawmakers drafted that option as part of the Clean Energy Jobs Act. But the Assembly did not debate the act during its session Tuesday, and, even if it were to pass the Assembly, the Senate does not have the votes to pass the act as drafted, said Carrie Lynch, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Wausau."

Republican lawmakers work to decrease carbon footprint via new energy source Three Republican legislators proposed ideas for new legislation Monday to repeal the state's ban on construction of new nuclear power plants. Rep. Michael Huebsch, R-West Salem, Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Green Bay, and Sen. Joe Liebham, R-Sheboygan, said in a statement Monday they are crafting the bill as a way to prevent energy shortages, unsustainable price increases and utility taxes.

Republican lawmakers work to decrease carbon footprint via new energy source Three Republican legislators proposed ideas for new legislation Monday to repeal the state's ban on construction of new nuclear power plants. Rep. Michael Huebsch, R-West Salem, Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Green Bay, and Sen. Joe Liebham, R-Sheboygan, said in a statement Monday they are crafting the bill as a way to prevent energy shortages, unsustainable price increases and utility taxes.

A Minnesota Indian community with a nuclear power plant as its neighbor is holding a rally to voice opposition to a utility's expansion plans there. Friday's rally by the Prairie Island Indian Community is the latest step it has taken to sound off against Xcel Energy Inc.'s plans for the Red Wing plant. The utility plans to spend $600 million to upgrade the plant so it can handle higher pressure and temperatures that could add 164 megawatts to its output. Regulators have also signed off on expanded waste storage. Tribal members say they are concerned about health and safety risks from the plant.

A Minnesota Indian community with a nuclear power plant as its neighbor is holding a rally to voice opposition to a utility's expansion plans there. Friday's rally by the Prairie Island Indian Community is the latest step it has taken to sound off against Xcel Energy Inc.'s plans for the Red Wing plant. The utility plans to spend $600 million to upgrade the plant so it can handle higher pressure and temperatures that could add 164 megawatts to its output. Regulators have also signed off on expanded waste storage. Tribal members say they are concerned about health and safety risks from the plant.