FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 30, 2009
Contact: Margaret Levin, State Director, 612-659-9124 x 306
State House Votes to Uphold Nuclear Moratorium
Minnesota stays the course toward clean, renewable energy
The Sierra Club, on behalf of its 17,000 members from across Minnesota, applauds the decision of the Minnesota House of Representatives today to uphold the state moratorium on new nuclear power. An amendment to repeal the current moratorium failed on the Minnesota House floor by a vote of 72 to 60.
In 1994, Sierra Club helped to pass a moratorium on the construction of new nuclear plants in Minnesota. Currently, there is no permanent plan for the storage of high level waste, and the Obama administration has removed funding for the planned Yucca Mountain federal repository.
In our current economic crisis, nuclear power is an incredibly expensive way to invest in job creation. Recent cost estimates for building a new nuclear power plant range from $6 to $12 billion. (Eliot Blair Smith, “McCain Nuclear Energy Revival May Cost $315 Billion,” Bloomberg, 11 September 2008.) “We have an abundance of safe and clean alternatives which can meet our energy needs at a fraction of the cost of nuclear power, including renewable energy resources, increased energy efficiency and conservation,” said John Hottinger, Chair of the North Star Chapter.
“Lifting the moratorium would have been a step in the wrong direction for Minnesota. Now, we can stay the course on our commitments to real solutions -- increasing the supply of clean and renewable energy,” said Margaret Levin, State Director of the North Star Chapter. “We particularly appreciate Representative Bill Hilty’s leadership in continuing to build the clean energy economy.”
Investing taxpayer and consumer dollars in clean energy such as wind, solar and efficiency provide more jobs, more quickly than nuclear generation. In addition, nuclear power generation requires significant amounts of water. The possibility of a nuclear accident endangers work and public health, and could create unsolvable health and environmental problems for tens of thousands of years.
The Sierra Club joins a broad coalition of organizations in supporting this decision, including Clean Water Action Alliance of Minnesota, Environment Minnesota, Izaak Walton League of America - Minnesota Division, and the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy.
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