Buyer of TVA Nuclear Plant Plans
to Run It
We previously
posted that the Tennessee
Valley Authority (TVA) was
auctioning an unfinished nuclear
power plant near Hollywood,
Alabama.
The buyer, Nuclear
Development LLC, announced its intention to complete the plant and put it
into operation.
Before this can be done, the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission must transfer the operating license from TVA to
Nuclear Development. In addition, Nuclear Development must complete financing
arrangements.
Nuclear Development bid $111 million for the plant. In addition to two
nuclear reactors and supporting facilities, the property includes 1,600 acres
of land.
Canada, Finland Plan to Phase Out
Coal
Canadian
officials announced plans to phase out coal-powered
electric generation by 2030. They hope the country will be 90 percent powered
by sustainable sources by that time.
Findland also proposes to phase out coal by 2030. The country plans to
be carbon-neutral
by 2050.
Bill Would Make Sale of Municipal
Utilities Easier
A bill filed in the Missouri
General Assembly (HB
247), would lower the threshold of voter approval needed for a municipality
to sell a utility. If passed, it would lower the requirement from a
five-seventh majority to a simple majority. The Missouri
House Local Government Committee has taken up the bill.
Bill Would Transfer Some Missouri
Roads from State to Counties
Two bills in the Missouri
Senate (SB
38 and SJR
3), propose pathway for the transfer of responsibility for certain road,
letter routes, from the state to counties. About two-thirds of the current
state funds for maintaining these roads will be distributed to counties, the
remainder remaining with the state for other transportation needs.
County officials are opposed to the measure, saying it will shift much
of the state’s burden for road maintenance to even more cash-strapped counties.
These routes were maintained by counties until 1952, when the state took them
over as part of a road improvement program.
A similar proposal failed to pass in the 2016 session. SJR 3 also
includes a provision for raising fuel taxes. You can find out more about these
bills here.
Noisy Electric Cars
New rules will require electric cars traveling slower than 19 miles per
hour to produce a sound. This is to prevent accidents involving pedestrians who
can’t hear the very quiet electric motors operating in these vehicles. The National
Transportation Safety Administration anticipates this measure will prevent
2,400 injuries to pedestrians annually. New electric and hybrid cars must
comply with the rule by September 2019.
