NUCLEAR POWER APPEARS to be making a bit of a comeback.

For decades, the trendlines have not been good, as aging reactors have found it difficult to compete against power generated by natural gas and overcome resistance from environmental advocates. Vermont Yankee in Vernon, Vermont, shut down at the end of 2014. Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Massachusetts, closed five years later in 2019.

Today, only two nuclear power plants remain in the region – Seabrook Station in New Hampshire, built in 1990, and the two-unit Millstone plant in Connecticut, built in the 1970s and 1980s. 

Neither plant is in great financial shape, but there appears to be growing awareness across the political spectrum at the state and federal level that existing nuclear power plants, with their emission-free electricity, have a role to play in the fight against climate change.

Congress has approved two tax credits to support existing nuclear power plants.

At a press conference earlier this week on Beacon Hill, representatives of conservative groups from all six New England states called for policymakers to ease up on renewable energy mandates, build more natural gas pipeline capacity into the region, and preserve the remaining nuclear power plants.

Rep. Jeffrey Roy of Franklin, a Democrat who chairs the Legislature’s Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy Committee, is a big supporter of offshore wind and solar. But he, too, sees a need for nuclear power plants. 

Roy, who toured the Seabrook and Millstone plants last year, said he intends to file legislation shortly that would allow the Healey administration to pursue the purchase of electricity generated by Millstone. 

He acknowledges the concerns about nuclear waste, but says the plant already exists so it makes sense to take advantage of its emission-free power to help address climate change. “It would be a shame if we didn’t at least take a look at it,” he said.

In 2019, Connecticut lawmakers directed the state’s two major utilities – Eversource and United Illuminating – to negotiate long-term contracts for half of Millstone’s output. 

Gov. Ned Lamont at the time characterized the purchase as a commonsense rescue mission. “Had this contract not gone forward, the facility would be in danger of closing down, which would have increased greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent across the New England region,” he said. “This important step keeps Connecticut and all of New England from back sliding on addressing climate change. Now we can renew our focus on offshore wind and other renewable energy resources to fully transition to a clean energy grid by 2040.”

Initially, the 10-year contract at a price of 4.9 cents per kilowatt hour increased consumer bills because the price of natural gas – the primary fuel used to produce electricity in New England — was so low. 

But with natural gas prices now much higher because of the war in Ukraine, electricity customers in Connecticut are benefitting. Utility officials estimate the Millstone contract generated roughly $260 million in savings in 2022.

Gov. Maura Healey’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs issued a statement on background saying there currently is no authorization to direct the state’s utilities to procure existing nuclear energy generation. 

But the statement pointed to a proposal issued this month by the Department of Energy Resources to create a Forward Clean Energy Market that would allow “states, local governments, companies, and consumers” to purchase clean energy, including nuclear power.

Under Massachusetts law, nuclear power is not considered renewable but it does qualify as clean energy. 

BRUCE MOHL

NEW STORIES FROM COMMONWEALTH MAGAZINE

Campbell sworn in: Andrea Campbell is sworn into office as attorney general and indicates she will use her own personal experience with the justice system as a guide. Campbell is the first Black woman to hold statewide office in Massachusetts. Read more.

OPINION

Just plain wrong: Andrew Gottlieb, executive director of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, slams an earlier commentary by Chris Michaud and Eric Turkington on a state proposal to upgrade septic systems on the Cape. He defends the proposal and calls their critique misleading and just plain wrong. Read more.

Transformative change: Five academics who are part of the Scholars Strategy Network press Gov. Maura Healey to push for transformative change using an approach that cuts across the siloes of government. Read more.

STORIES FROM ELSEWHERE AROUND THE WEB

BEACON HILL

The Globe asks how the “Big Three” will get along on Beacon Hill. With Democrats holding all three posts (governor, Senate president, and House speaker) for only the second time in three decades, CommonWealth pondered previously whether it will yield harmony or infighting. 

Diana DiZoglio is sworn in as auditor at her old high school in Methuen by Gov. Maura Healey. No mention in the story on whether the former state senator intends to follow through on her campaign promise to audit the Legislature. (Eagle-Tribune)

MUNICIPAL MATTERS  

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s rent control proposal is out and it’s facing criticism from all sides. (WBUR)

A new website, BasicBerskhires.org, provides immigrants with links to free or low-cost services. (Berkshire Eagle)

HEALTH/HEALTH CARE

Roxanne Ruppel is taking over as president of Salem Hospital. (Salem News)

WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

The State Department is launching the Welcome Corps, a program designed to enlist 10,000 Americans who can help refugees resettle in the country. (Associated Press)

Fireworks ahead: Some right-wing Republicans who were the most vociferous supporters of former president Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election, including Marjorie Taylor Greene, Paul Gosar, and Lauren Boebert, have landed seats on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, the chamber’s main investigative panel. (New York Times) 

ELECTIONS

Emails show that MassGOP chair Jim Lyons appears to have coordinated with an outside political action committee, something that would be a violation of campaign finance law. (Boston Globe) 

EDUCATION

An internal report is recommending that the Boston Public Schools establish an internal school police force. (Boston Herald) 

ARTS/CULTURE

The city-owned Strand Theatre in Dorchester is undergoing $500,000 in improvements. (Dorchester Reporter)

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT

Massachusetts customers are getting walloped by soaring electric rates. (Boston Globe) 

A North Atlantic right whale calf becomes dangerously enmeshed in fishing line off the coast of Georgia, alarming scientists worried about the dwindling number of the mammals. The calf was last seen in May 2022 off the coast of Cape Cod. (Cape Cod Times)

CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS

A Black man is suing the Worcester Police Department for racial profiling, saying officers have stopped him 70 times. (GBH)

A Littleton gun buyer is facing federal charges that he conspired to sell weapons to a straw buyer that were later used in a Boston shooting. (Boston Globe) 

Newly elected Bristol County Sheriff Paul Heroux says he wants to close the Ash Street Jail, an antiquated 19th century facility used mostly for pre-trial detention. (New Bedford Light) 

Greenfield’s police chief says budget constraints mean he’ll soon have to stop having any officers on overnight patrols in the city. (MassLive) 

Prosecutors outlined a set of grisly internet searches conducted by Brian Walshe, who was arraigned Wednesday on murder charges, that involve looking for information on how to get rid of a body. (Boston Globe) 

MEDIA

The Massachusetts Appeals Court orders a lower court judge to consider increasing the fines the city of Worcester must pay the Telegram & Gazette for withholding documents under the state’s Public Records Law. The lower court judge ordered the city to pay $5,000 in punitive damages and $100,000 to cover the newspaper’s legal fees. (Telegram & Gazette)