Plant owner EnergySolutions and WEC Energy Group are asking the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for approval to build a new nuclear facility at the site of a shuttered plant in Kewaunee County, according to Wisconsin Watch.
If it is granted, officials expect construction could begin in the early 2030s and the plant could come online by 2040. The process would likely require labor from thousands of workers, WEC spokesperson Brendan Conway said.
University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Nuclear Engineering & Engineering Physics Department Chair Paul Wilson and Assistant Professor Ben Lindley believe there is a ready pipeline of nuclear engineers in the state to keep up with that added demand.
In the grand scheme, nuclear engineers are likely the minority of workers who will be needed if a new plant opens, Lindley said. The construction and the operation of the plant are distinct phases that will require a healthy mix of blue- and white-collar workers.
While Kewaunee Power Station is still standing, EnergySolutions has been decommissioning it — cleaning up nuclear waste and radioactive materials to dismantle the plant — since 2022, meaning the old reactor will not be brought back online, Conway said. It would be a new facility, requiring the construction of a nuclear reactor.
The companies will need electrical, civil, chemical and mechanical engineering workers to design and operate the new reactor. They’ll also need many people in the skilled trades, such as electricians, welders, pipefitters, and other construction workers to carry out the project.
“What you’ve seen in other plants like this is, it’s a blend of training local people, sourcing from firms that are already in the state, including construction firms, and then also they’d probably need people coming in from outside in the building phase, as well,” Lindley said.
Lakeshore Technical College in Cleveland has been training workers who have hands-on experience at the Kewaunee Power Station, despite it being nonoperational. The college partners with EnergySolutions to supply workers for the decommissioning process. Company officials have said the partnership allows people to work at the plant for several years and then take their skills to other nuclear facilities.
