With more local input, Legislature signs on to the beginning of Utah's nuclear future
After a tense conference and behind-the-scenes negotiations, a resolution was reached on whether a new Utah Energy Council will be mandated to collaborate with cities and counties on new nuclear energy development zones.
Initially, the Senate fought to keep some flexibility in those collaborations, but that was a hard line for municipalities. Now, after four versions of HB249, sponsored by Rep. Carl Albrecht, R-Richfield, consensus was reached on the second-to-last day of the Utah legislative session.
In the final version, the energy council 'shall' negotiate with counties or municipalities on the tax distribution in the new zones, ending debate that hinged on the choice of a single word.
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'Local governments will now have a say in the bill. They were concerned as we discussed it last night,' Albrecht said after the Thursday conference. 'I will say, staff just informed me that we have not had a conference committee that ended in adjournment without a decision since 1998.'
After the changes, the bill passed on Thursday afternoon with most Democrats voting in opposition. It will now go to Gov. Spencer Cox's desk for a final consideration — which is highly likely since this bill has sat on top of his priority list, especially after he announced Operation Gigawatt, an effort to double energy production in Utah.
Nuclear energy bill hangs on a single word as cities and counties fight for a say
The issue of whether the state would be mandated to collaborate with municipalities had raised concerns for cities and counties, which were smarting from a recent debate over what could have been a powerful state entity with the authority to supersede some local decisions, the Beehive Development Agency — which ended up not moving forward this year.
Brandy Grace, chief executive officer of the Utah Association of Counties, one of the groups that was most concerned about the potential of removing local control over these nuclear energy zones, said during the conference that she was grateful for the change.
'We recognize that these baseload projects that the fourth amendment addresses will more than likely be developed in unincorporated areas of the counties,' Grace said, 'so we appreciate the response to our request to be at the table when those negotiations are happening.'
The changes weren't enough for four Senate and 10 House Democrats to sign on to the law, however.
Some of the concerns the minority caucus brought up weren't addressed in the final version.
Sen. Nate Blouin, D-Millcreek, who is also a renewable energy advocate, said that his position didn't really depend on the word change. This iteration, he still believes, will lead to top-down decisions and a lack of community input.
Sure, there needs to be a way to streamline how to develop that energy infrastructure in the state, he said. However, eliminating the only two minority party appointees from the authority's composition takes away 'some of the balanced representation on the committee.'
'I think that's the wrong move. We have a supermajority here in Utah. They're going to have their way with things, but to just totally steamroll political opposition is not the way forward,' Blouin said, 'especially projects that are going to require local input.'
After initially including a combined $2.6 million for HB249 and nuclear energy for Operation Gigawatt, legislative leaders on Thursday agreed to fund $8.25 million more for nuclear Operation Gigawatt projects. The initial request from the governor was $20 million.
But, even those $20 million wouldn't go a long way for nuclear energy, Blouin said, so he worries the vast majority of the cost for these projects would have to be paid by local communities.
'We're looking at these tax increments on these big development projects that are going to be diverted from local communities and back into these new entities that we're creating,' he said. 'And we've seen that all over the place these little carve-outs for favorite industries and favorite people, and takes money out of the local counties and takes oversight and input out of the local stakeholders.'
Another change introduced in the latest iteration of the bill makes another single-word distinction: 'baseload.'
The projects that would be possible because of the bill would be those involving energy sources that could be turned on and off as needed. That means coal, natural gas, geothermal, and anything that could provide power 24/7, Albrecht said.
'Wind and solar are intermittent, but we'll still take them when the wind blows and the sun shines,' he added.
Many aspects of this legislation may change in the future, as Utah may see its first small modular reactor in a matter of decades. But, for now, Albrecht seems satisfied with being able to pass such a big bill after major hurdles.
'We've come to the party, we made a good decision,' he told the House before the last vote. 'It's a great bill, we're gonna enter the nuclear generation.'
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