A volunteer advisory group told the utility that serves Colorado’s second-largest city that it should look at adding a small nuclear reactor for additional power generation.
Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) said it is reviewing the recommendation from the Utility Policy Advisory Committee (UPAC). That committee, which is not affiliated with the utility, in June of last year began researching the feasibility of nuclear energy for CSU. The volunteer group looked at current technology for small modular reactors (SMRs), along with regulatory, permitting, and environmental issues for a nuclear power project. The independent committee also looked at potential costs for CSU to add nuclear power to its portfolio.
State lawmakers in the current legislative session have discussed whether nuclear power would qualify as “clean energy” in Colorado. A recently introduced bill, House Bill 25-1040—”Nuclear Energy as Clean Energy”—on Feb. 20 passed on second reading in the statehouse.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.
