This image, created by the International Atomic Energy Agency, displays three different types of nuclear reactors. Indiana lawmakers are advancing legislation to redefine a small modular reactor within the state as a nuclear reactor capable of generating up to 470 megawatts.
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The definition of a "small" nuclear reactor in Indiana law is poised to get significantly bigger, potentially triggering unknown ramifications for utilities and ratepayers decades down the line.
A House committee voted 10-3 Tuesday to advance Senate-approved legislation redefining a small modular reactor (SMR) as a nuclear reactor capable of generating up to 470 megawatts of energy — a 34% increase from the state's current 350 MW generating cap.
State Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, the sponsor of Senate Bill 176, said the higher generating capacity encompasses more of the nascent SMR market, including a 450 MW reactor designed by Rolls-Royce, an aircraft engine manufacturer based in Indianapolis.
"We are in an iterative process and we're learning as we go," Soliday said. "I don't even know that 470 is the right number."
Advocates for SMRs, which currently aren't in use anywhere in the United States, liken them to the nuclear devices used to power U.S. Navy ships and submarines for decades and see them as a clean-energy alternative to wind and solar, which require much more land for solar arrays and windmills, and battery storage systems to ensure reliability.
At 470 MW, a nuclear SMR would generate about 87% of the energy produced by coal at the Michigan City Generating Station, 59% of the nameplate capacity of the Meadow Lake Wind Farm located along Interstate 65 south of Northwest Indiana, or 20% of the output of the conventional Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station in Will County, Illinois.
Soliday insisted his legislation isn't aimed at favoring Rolls-Royce. Rather, he said it's about positioning Indiana to be prepared to implement nuclear power, subject to potentially superseding federal regulations, once SMR technology develops to the point of widespread deployment.
"I, for one, am not convinced that batteries are the answer," Soliday said. "So whatever we do, let's do it right."
State lawmakers last year directed the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to adopt rules by July 1, 2023, that would permit nuclear SMRs to be used to generate electricity in the Hoosier State.
Senate Enrolled Act 271 (2022) did not mandate any utilities switch to nuclear power. Instead, it merely opened the door for utilities to consider constructing a nuclear generating facility by putting in place the regulations that would guide its development and use.
Critics of the plans said there's no need for Indiana to lead the way with nuclear SMRs, especially through rules that give utilities built-in profits, other incentives, and the opportunity to recoup potentially billions of dollars in construction costs from ratepayers before a nuclear reactor actually generates any electricity.
"We're 10 years away from even a prototype coming online," said Kerwin Olson, executive director of Citizens Action Coalition, an Indiana-based consumer and environmental advocacy organization.
"This isn't about being pro-nuke or anti-nuke," he added. "The responsibility to finance and take that risk should be borne by investors, not by captive ratepayers."
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