I recently learned about Indiana Senate Bill 271. This is a bill that would add small modular reactor (SMR) technology to a list of low-emissions sources, including wind, solar, “clean coal,” and certain gas-based generation, which are all eligible to apply for CWIP (construction work in progress) incentives — subsidies, in a word. Here is a link to the bill.
Senate Bill 271
Anyway, the bill is short — five pages, including the digest. (Senate-approved version as of 14 Feb 2022) The main body of the bill’s text would add Indiana Code 8-1-8.5-12.1 as a new Section, effective July 1st, 2022. I will summarize my thoughts here:
The target is fossil fuels. (Page 2, line 26.) The public utilities commission shall consider whether and to what extent the SMR project “will replace a loss of generating capacity… resulting from the retirement or planned retirement of… facilities that… use coal or natural gas as a fuel source.”
This wins it from a climate perspective. Direct replacement a high-emission generation plant with a low-emission one. I asked about this possibility last September at the Association of Indiana Counties conference, session on energy. It seemed at the time that the presenters, at least, weren’t really thinking about this, but clearly that was not the case.
Existing infrastructure is utilized. (Page 2, line 31) The committee is also to consider whether a new facility will be located at or near the retiring/retired one, and thus “make use of any land and existing infrastructure or facilities” controlled by the public utility.
Use what is already there. The land, the buildings, the steam generators, the transmission lines will all still be good.