Energy bill seems to be another indication of Indiana's lean into nuclear power

A controversial energy bill and its three amendments hit the House floor at the Indiana Statehouse on Monday. 

Senate Bill 425, authored by Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, and Sen. Stacey Donato, R-Logansport, seeks to change zoning laws related to power plants in Indiana. Zoning laws decide how a specific spot of land can be used. They help the government plan out where people can build homes, factories, farms, etc.

As it stands now, there are local zoning barriers that could sit in the way of quickly building electrical facilities. In 2024, global energy demand doubled from the past decade’s average, and global electricity consumption rose by 4.3%. 

Kerwin Olson, executive director of Citizens Action Coalition, which bills itself as "Indiana's oldest and largest consumer and environmental advocacy organization," said these facilities are actually a way to push the development of small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). 

“The big problem I think the bill is trying to address is the siting of small modular reactors,” Olson said. “I think all the discussion around siting this year has really been about ensuring that opponents of nuclear power don’t get in the way of siting reactors.”

Olson continued to give his reasoning for why this bill is about SMRs, even though SB 425 does not explicitly refer to them. 

“No. 1, at the legislative conference in December, chair of house utilities Ed Soliday said that the siting bills were about nuclear reactors. No. 2, what you’ll notice is the only mention of any technology in (SB 425) are wind and solar,” Olson said.

“It prohibits—it does not include wind and solar as eligible technologies, meaning that local communities can still prohibit wind and solar if they want to. So you are not seeing the things that are allowed, only the things that are prohibited.”

A defining mark of this legislative session has been the frequency with which SMRs have been mentioned. Olson believes he knows why they are such a popular topic of conversation.

“The driving force behind (SMRs) is that there are those who are concerned, if you will, about the retirement of coal-fired power plants,” Olson said. “Most of those concerned with those plants are also extremely skeptical of renewable energy. They are stuck in the belief that we must have 24/7 baseload power, and they have hijacked the word ‘reliable.’”

Proponents of SB 425 say it would eliminate anything that stands in the way of building more electrical facilities and chip away at the energy problem, streamlining the building process by eliminating the need for a zoning or siting permit from the local government. These facilities cannot be built just anywhere; they can only be built where a previous facility was or on a former surface or underground mine. 

The hope is that with fewer restrictions, electrical facilities can be built in a more efficient manner; however, this is where the conflict heats up.

Although SB 425 could theoretically encourage further construction of these facilities, critics say it comes at the expense of the local government’s autonomy. Delaney Barber Kwon, the government affairs manager for Indiana Conservation Voters, spoke with WFYI about the bill.

“We do have some concerns about the approach to restricting local control to streamline the process," she said.

House Bill 1007, currently in the Senate, incentivizes the creation of SMRs in Indiana by adding a state tax credit for any developmental expenses. Indiana was also chosen by the U.S Department of Energy and National Governors Association to be a haven for nuclear energy.

“Indiana is uniquely positioned to be a national leader in nuclear energy, and this opportunity will help to inform and accelerate our strategy and focus,” Gov. Mike Braun said about the initiative. “Collaboration is essential to ensuring reliability, affordability, economic growth, and sustainability for Hoosiers.”

Olson made his opinion clear about whether SB 425 would encourage the development of SMRs.

“No,” he said. 

There are currently no active SMRs in America, and Olson is skeptical of them ever being operational in the states.

“Twenty years ago, they were 10 years away. Ten years ago, they were 10 years away. Today they are 10 years away. They simply don’t exist. They are not commercially available, so how can something be replaced with something that is not available?" he said.

Rep. Edmond Soliday, R-Valparaiso, author of SMR bill HB 1007, is also sponsoring SB 425. Energy bill seems to be another indication of Indiana's lean into nuclear powerIn the House session, Soliday spoke against amendment 3, which would include both wind and solar energy to the bill. 

“We made (SB 425) up with wind and solar, but the Senate has made it absolutely clear they will strip this out and send it back to conference committee,” Soliday said. “So to save us all another meeting, I would urge you to vote against the amendment."

SB 425’s amendment 3 failed 68-27; the bill passed its second reading and now moves forward to its third House reading.