Overview
- Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed the bill Wednesday at the Salem/Hope Creek site, ending the de facto moratorium by replacing a 1970s waste rule that no project could meet.
- The law lets the state Department of Environmental Protection approve Nuclear Regulatory Commission–compliant storage on site, after a General Assembly vote on March 23.
- The measure also creates a state nuclear task force to study financing, workforce needs, supply chains, and other hurdles to adding reactors.
- PSEG, which runs Salem and Hope Creek, holds an early site permit to expand but says it will seek partners rather than pay to build a new plant, and large projects could take a decade.
- Supporters say more nuclear power could ease high electric bills as demand rises from data centers, while critics warn the change weakens coastal safeguards under CAFRA and gives the DEP chief too much discretion.