DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A legislator said Tuesday that he had struck a deal on a plan that would give MidAmerican Energy new incentives to build a nuclear power plant in Iowa.
Sen. Matt McCoy, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, said his panel will approve the compromise Thursday.
"We have the votes," McCoy, D-Des Moines, told The Associated Press. "We have a consumer-friendly amendment."
The compromise would require that MidAmerican, Iowa's largest utility, have financing in place before beginning construction of a nuclear power plant. Once state regulators approve a new plant, the utility would have to carry out construction.
Some legislators had worried earlier versions of the measure would allow the utility to raise rates to pay for the plant, without being committed to actually building the facility. They said consumers could end up with higher rates, and no new power plant to show for it.
Lawmakers reached the agreement even as opponents held a Statehouse news conference, where they argued that nuclear plants are inherently dangerous.
Sen. Rob Hogg, D-Cedar Rapids, was among the speakers at the event, timed to mark the upcoming anniversary of the March 11 meltdown at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi plant. The accident occurred after a massive earthquake caused a tsunami that knocked out power to the plant.................
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/07/midamerican-energy-iowa-nuclear-plant_n_1324794.html
That's as disingenuous an incentive as I have ever seen. Great "Pro nuke" doublespeak to ensure another plant is never built in Iowa.
Imagine the prospect of one day being the startup crew for Units 1 & 2 of the newly commissioned "Fred Grandy Nuclear Generating Station"? ;)
Gopher 1 and 2!