Delaware lawmakers have proposed new legislation to establish a task force that will study nuclear energy and possible small modular reactor deployment in the state.
In the bill, Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 18, the task force will be tasked with multiple roles such as to assess the logistics of deploying SMRs in Delaware, to assess the financial feasibility of the deployments, and to identify needed changes in regulations and laws to facilitate the SMRs development and deployment.
The bill was passed in the Senate in a 19-2 vote on March 26 and has been sent to the state House’s Natural Resources and Energy committee. On April 3, an amendment for the task force to explore nuclear fusion energy generation technology was introduced by state House Rep. Jeff Hilovsky (R), who is an additional sponsor to Resolution 18.
The proposed task force would be 25 members made up representatives from public and private sectors. Eight of the members would be selected by the state governor.
State Sen. Bryant Richardson (R), who introduced the bill on March 26, advocated for use of nuclear energy and SMRs with the state facing an increasing demand for electricity, as said in a Feb. 25 press release.
Delaware imported 6.3 million megawatts-hours of electricity in 2023, the bill said. The state does not generate enough electricity to meet consumer demand, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The bill further said that with the deployment of SMRs the state can create energy independence and a long-term solution to meet increasing electricity demands.
Delaware does not have an operating nuclear power plant as natural gas-fired power plants account for 83% of the state’s electricity net generation in 2024, according to the EIA.
Delaware is also not a Nuclear Regulatory Commission agreement state.
