SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 220

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JUNE 12, 2025

      The Senate Environment and Energy Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 220.

      As amended and reported, this bill would establish the Nuclear Power Advisory Commission (commission), charged with conducting a study and preparing a report on the role that nuclear energy power plants, including small-scale nuclear energy power plants, should play in the State’s energy future.  The commission would consist of nine members, including the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, the President of the Board of Public Utilities, and the President of the New Jersey Utilities Association, or their designees, and six members of the public appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.

      In carrying out its responsibilities, the commission would be required to consider:

      (1) the role nuclear energy generation plays in the State’s energy portfolio, including the value of nuclear energy generation as a reliable, zero-emission source of energy and the value of nuclear energy generation in meeting the goals of the “Global Warming Response Act,” P.L.2007, c.112 (C.26:2C-37 et seq.), including the goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050;

      (2) the impact the closure of existing, licensed, and operating nuclear energy power plants within and outside the State would have on the reliability of the energy grid, the State’s air quality, and the price of electricity;

      (3) emerging technologies in reactor designs and the viability of small-scale nuclear energy power plants; and

      (4) actions by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other states concerning nuclear energy generation.  

      The commission would expire 30 days after the submittal of the report required by the bill.

      This bill was pre-filed for introduction in the 2024-2025 session pending technical review. As reported, the bill includes the changes required by technical review, which has been performed.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amendments to the bill add two members to the commission, one from the business community and one from a labor organization.