The owner of a shuttered nuclear power plant in northeast Wisconsin is working with the state’s largest utility company to explore the potential for bringing new nuclear energy generation to the site.
Utah-based nuclear company EnergySolutions owns the Kewaunee Power Station in Kewaunee County. The company announced Tuesday that it is working with WEC Energy Group, the parent company of We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service, on the effort.
The companies are in the early stages of a “multi-year” plan to pursue federal approval for bringing new nuclear energy online at the site, according to EnergySolutions. The company says the plan also includes conducting “in-depth” site and environmental studies.
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In a statement, EnergySolutions President and CEO Ken Robuck said rising energy demand from data centers, artificial intelligence and industrial growth have made reliable carbon-free energy more important than ever.
“By bringing our nuclear licensing and project development expertise to the table, we look forward to supporting WEC in the early planning stages for new nuclear generation in Wisconsin,” Robuck stated.
EnergySolutions is also looking at expanding the boundary of its Kewaunee County property to allow for “a larger energy center to potentially be located at the site,” Robuck told WPR via email. He said the company has offered to purchase specific parcels adjacent to the nuclear plant.
Ben Nelson, executive director of the Kewaunee County Economic Development Corp., said plans for the shuttered plant are “very preliminary at this point.”
“It is encouraging that they’re taking proactive steps to try and evaluate what its best future use and potential could be,” Nelson said. “It’s a good first step, but it does not mean there’s anything imminent in terms of a final outcome.”
The Kewaunee Power Station was designed and licensed to generate an approximate “maximum power output of 1,772 megawatts-thermal,” according to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The plant began commercial operation in 1974 and shut down in 2013.
According to federal regulators, major decommissioning and dismantlement started in 2022 and are scheduled to end by 2055.
EnergySolutions received state and federal approval to acquire the closed plant in 2022. When the company announced the acquisition the year prior, EnergySolutions said it would oversee the continued decommissioning of the site and the removal of remaining radioactive waste.
Projected increases in energy demand over the next 10 to 20 years contributed to the company shifting its plans, Robuck said via email.
“The Kewaunee property, given it has already been studied and licensed for nuclear energy generation, is a prime candidate for siting new nuclear facilities,” Robuck wrote.
In an email, WEC Energy Group spokesperson Brendan Conway said the utility has signed an agreement with EnergySolutions to explore new nuclear energy generation at the site with the goal of securing permits from federal regulators.
“The new nuclear generation will provide Wisconsin an important source of carbon-free, 24/7 generation to help meet the state’s growing power demand, and provide customers energy security and stability,” Conway said.
The announcement comes as some state lawmakers have been advocating for more nuclear energy in Wisconsin, introducing legislation to support that goal.
One bill in the state Legislature directs the state’s Public Service Commission to do a nuclear power siting study, while another would organize a one-time Wisconsin nuclear power summit at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s new engineering building once it’s finished.
State Rep. Dave Steffen, R-Howard, one of the lawmakers who introduced those bills in the Assembly, called the Kewaunee County announcement a “great first step” to expanding nuclear energy in the state.
Steffen said the project would use new technology instead of bringing the old plant back online. He said WEC Energy Group and EnergySolutions are looking at using a type of advanced nuclear reactors that are smaller than traditional nuclear reactors.
“Kewaunee is the perfect first place to bring next generation nuclear,” Steffen said. “It’s already connected to the grid, it has direct access for cooling through Lake Michigan [and] all the infrastructure already exists on site. This is the natural first step for Wisconsin to get into next generation nuclear technology.”
Robuck said new nuclear technologies “differ significantly” from the designs used when the Kewaunee plant was built in the early ’70s. He said modern designs “improve upon safety, efficiency, scalability and waste management.”
State Sen. André Jacque, R-New Franken, whose district includes Kewaunee County, said the old Kewaunee Power Station in the town of Carlton was an “economic driver for the area” that has been missed by many of his constituents.
He said he believes the new project is “something the community can rally behind.”
“It’s something that is bringing in very important investment,” Jacque said. “We’re moving forward with, I think, a really strong plan to restore economic vitality and long-term energy stability for our area.”
But it could take years to bring a new nuclear power plant online. Robuck said EnergySolutions’ goal is to bring new electrical generation online “as early as 2038.”
Editor’s note: This article was updated to clarify the old plant’s power output.
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