Expanding New Jersey's Nuclear Generation Capacity

Description

Four members of Governor Sherrill's recently appointed Nuclear Policy Task Force are among the featured speakers for a full-day conference focused on the fiscal, regulatory and environmental challenges facing state government and industry leaders as they seek to build new full-sized or Small Modular Reactors (SMRs )to generate the electricity needed to meet rising demand.

Board of Public Utilities President Christine Guhl-Sadovy, who co-chairs the Governor's task force, will deliver the luncheon keynote. Acting Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Ed Potosnak, Economic Development Authority CEO Evan Weiss, and Patrick O'Brien, Director of Government Affairs and Communications for Holtec, which is proposing to build SMRs at Oyster Creek in Ocean County, also are among the featured speakers who serve on the task force. 

Sponsored by the Rowan Energy Collaborative (ROWEC) and the Sweeney Center for Public Policy, the conference is being held on Tuesday, June 9, from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm at Rowan University's Eynon Ballroom, Chamberlain Student Center, 201 Mullica Hill Road, Glassboro, NJ 0802.8. Attendance is free, and breakfast and lunch are included. To register for the conference, click here.

Other speakers include: 

• Senator John Burzichelli, sponsor of the nuclear tax credits bill;
• James Wyble III, Vice President, Americas Region, Westinghouse, and lead for AP1000 project development in North America -- the AP1000 is the model that PSEG Nuclear is proposing to use for the fourth reactor to be built at its Salem County complex;
• Stephen Sweeney, the former Ironworkers Union international vice president who sponsored earlier nuclear tax credit legislation as Senate President;
• Christopher Peters, Associate Teaching Professor, Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering, whose Ph.D. is in nuclear engineering;
• Marie Casanova, Director of the Green Jobs Academy, Rowan University, and Co-Director of ROWEC;
• Erick Ford, President of the New Jersey Energy Policy Coalition.

Panelists will also include senior officials from PSEG Nuclear and Salem County College, which has run a nuclear technology training program in partnership with PSEG Nuclear since 2010. Moderators include former New Jersey BPU Commissioner Bob Gordon; Mark Magyar, Director of the Sweeney Center and Co-Director of ROWEC; Eddie Guerra, Associate Dean for Strategic Sustainability and Engagement, School of Earth and Environment, and Yolanda Mack, Associate Dean for Workforce Development & Industry Partnerships, Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering.

Rowan Energy Collaborative (ROWEC) is conducting a multidisciplinary research study, Expanding Nuclear Power in NJ, to evaluate the most cost-effective, environmentally responsible ways to expand nuclear energy generation. The study is funded through a grant from the State Policy Lab, Office of the Secretary of Higher Education (OSHE).

For further information on the conference, please go to Events or contact Sweeney Center Director Mark Magyar at magyarm@rowan.edu.