Delaware’s Nuclear Energy Feasibility Task Force plans to submit its recommendations to the General Assembly and governor's office by the end of July.
The Taskforce was set to submit a report at the end of last year covering the economic impact, regulatory considerations, reliability, and environmental implications of using Small Modular Reactors in Delaware.
But the group of academics, lawmakers, and industry leaders only met a couple since it was created last July.
Task force co-chair State Sen. Stephanie Hansen said subject matter up for review is dense, and logistics held it up from meeting more often last year.
Not everyone on the task force was seated yet, she said. "So we needed some extra time."
They have until the end of July, she said. But that doesn't mean they're required to take that much time to submit their recommendations.
"We will have a very aggressive schedule as we go forward in the in the hopes that we can be done much earlier than that," she said.
Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility executive director Drew Slater said he’ll work with other industry leaders on the task force to create two to four scenarios for deploying small modular reactors in Delaware by June.
Hansen said having these ready earlier would be better, because the scenarios should be included in the taskforce report submitted to the General Assembly and governor to review.
The taskforce also voted to table its proposed preliminary recommendations, with plans to delve more deeply into them during upcoming meetings.
The preliminary recommendations include an overarching statement that the panel believes it’s in the public's interest to promote and incentivize construction of nuclear reactors in Delaware.
State Rep. Jeff Hilovsky, who sits on the taskforce, said he doesn’t want the full slate of nearly 20 points to be tabled and forgotten.
"I think (the preliminary recommendations) need to be moved to a discussion point, not just, table and say, 'See you later, bye,'" he said. "I think it's time to maybe make a date certain agenda item so that this can be at least discussed."
Members of the taskforce voted to review the various points in the preliminary recommendations for points of agreement at its next meeting.
