Policy

Evers signs bills to bolster nuclear power technology in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed two bipartisan bills to boost nuclear power in the state — one allocates $2 million for a study to identify the best site for a nuclear fusion power plant and the other establishes a board to advance nuclear and fusion technologies and host a summit in 2028.

Associated Press

July 2, 2025

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Bright light created by an experimental nuclear fusion device illuminates equipment surrounding the location of the reaction.

A fusion device created by researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison generated plasma for the first time on July 15, 2024, at the UW's Physical Sciences Lab in Stoughton. (Source: UW-Madison Department of Physics)


AP News

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Tony Evers signed a pair of bipartisan bills on July 2 designed to bolster nuclear power in Wisconsin.

Lawmakers who advocated for the measures said they hoped to make Wisconsin the “Silicon Valley” for nuclear power development in the country.

One bill orders a $2 million study to find the best location for a nuclear fusion power plant in the state. The other creates a new board to advance nuclear power and fusion technology in the state and host a summit in 2028.

Evers, a Democrat, said exploring nuclear power options are a way to combat climate change and lower carbon emissions.

“We must continue our efforts to help lower energy costs and improve energy independence by reducing our reliance out-of-state energy sources, and these bills are an important step in the right direction,” Evers said in a statement.

The bills focus on nuclear fusion rather than fission, the nuclear reaction that powers current nuclear reactors and produces radioactive waste.

Scientists in 2022 announced that they have for the first time produced more energy in a fusion reaction than was used to ignite it — a major breakthrough in the decades-long quest to harness the process that powers the sun.

“The nuclear renaissance is here in Wisconsin and in the United States, and it’s time for everybody else to get on board,” Republican Rep. Shae Sortwell said during Assembly debate in June.