The Green Party of Minnesota is outraged at the sudden vote on April 2 by which the state Senate seeks to bypass public debate and end the ban on licensing new nuclear reactors. The measure, already defeated in one House committee, was attached as an amendment to another energy bill on the floor of the Senate and passed by a vote of 42 to 24.

"This is another strong-arm play by the energy companies to achieve a deal behind closed doors, as they did in 1994, when a conference committee reversed the clearly expressed will of Minnesota voters," declared Rhoda Gilman, one of the party's spokespeople. In that year Northern States Power Company (now a part of Xcel Energy) was allowed to extend the life of its Prairie Island plant by building 17 above-ground casks to store high-level nuclear wastes on the flood plain of the Mississippi River.

Greens believe that nuclear power is neither safe nor cheap. As evidence they point to millions of public dollars spent on the failed attempt to create a secure storage place for radioactive wastes at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. They also cite the failure of private investors to build new plants anywhere in the country since the 1970s. "Reactors are far too expensive," says Gilman, "but now that the nuclear companies scent taxpayer subsidies in the form of stimulus funds, they are once again interested."

Greens think Minnesota's energy needs should be met by stringent conservation and by development of decentralized renewable sources, such as wind and solar energy. They point out that power produced and consumed locally would not be dependent on vulnerable distribution networks nor on plants subject to possible terrorist attack.

Contacts: Rhoda Gilman, (651) 224-6383; Dave Bicking, (612) 276-1213

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 10, 2009