Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill Monday designed to crack open the door to a new nuclear energy era in Colorado, disregarding a coalition of environmental groups asking for a veto.
The legislation, HB25-1040, redefines nuclear as a “clean energy resource” since it doesn’t release large amounts of climate-warming emissions. The category was previously reserved for renewables like wind, solar and geothermal, which don’t carry the radioactive stigma that’s hobbled fission power plants following disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima.
In an emailed statement, Ally Sullivan, a spokesperson for the governor’s office, said the law doesn’t advance any specific nuclear energy project, and no utility has proposed building a nuclear power plant in Colorado. It does, however, allow nuclear energy to potentially serve as one piece of the state’s plan to tackle climate change.
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