Colorado will add nuclear power to its portfolio of “clean energy” sources after Gov. Jared Polis approved a bill from the state legislature. 

The governor’s office on Monday said Polis had signed into law House Bill 1040, which puts nuclear power on par with wind, solar, hydroelectric and geothermal energy in terms of being a clean resource in the eyes of the state. 

The effort is a breakthrough for nuclear energy proponents and Republican lawmakers who have been trying for three years at the state Capitol to pass such a bill. While previous measures failed to garner support from Democrats, this year’s bill passed the legislature with broad bipartisan support, with a 43-18 vote in the House and 29-5 vote in the Senate. 

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Lawmakers say having nuclear energy as a clean energy option could help the state meet its goal of having 100% renewable electricity from large utility providers by 2050. 

“The fact of the matter is that this body imposed very strict carbon emission reduction goals that I supported, and I think many in this chamber support,” said Sen. Dylan Roberts, D-Frisco, during a March 13 debate on the Senate floor. “For nuclear to be considered an option for energy generation, that needs to count towards those carbon emission reduction goals.” 

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Roberts, one of the prime sponsors of House Bill 1040, also sees it as a way to protect local jobs and tax revenue in communities where coal-burning plants have long been an economic driver. His district includes Hayden and Craig, where coal plants are slated to close before the end of the decade.  

Those communities “are seeking to continue to be a part of the energy generation future in this state and they want to be able to have as many options on the table as possible,” Roberts said. 

The bill, however, faced pushback from a coalition of environmental groups who lambasted the idea that nuclear power is a clean form of energy production. In a March 18 letter to Polis, 76 organizations and community leaders — including GreenLatinos, Sierra Club Colorado and Colorado Coalition for a Livable Climate — urged the governor to veto the measure. 

“The idea that nuclear power is a clean energy source could not be further from the truth,” the letter states. “Nuclear power is the only energy resource that generates dangerous waste that will remain radioactive for thousands of years.” 

The letter criticized nuclear energy’s environmental impacts in the form of waste and water usage as well as its cost compared to other renewable energy sources like wind and solar.

Roberts, during his floor debate, stressed that House Bill 1040 does not initiate any nuclear energy projects in the state or allocate funding to such efforts. Instead, it allows communities to begin exploring the option. 

“This is a precursor to larger conversations that would need to happen,” Roberts said. “Many more regulatory approvals, many more plans regarding workforce and waste and other things that go in with creating new energy development.” 

Nuclear energy production in Colorado has been dormant since 1989, when the state’s only nuclear plant, Fort St. Vrain in Weld County, ceased operations.