nuclear-news

Invest in existing clean energy solutions, not nuclear fantasy.

By Lynda Williams, 31 Oct 25, https://www.staradvertiser.com/2025/10/30/editorial/island-voices/column-invest-in-existing-clean-energy-solutions-not-nuclear-fantasy/

In the last legislative session, Hawai‘i lawmakers approved Senate Concurrent Resolution 136, directing the Hawai‘i State Energy Office (HSEO) to convene a Nuclear Energy Working Group to study whether “advanced” nuclear power could help meet the state’s 100% renewable energy goal.

I serve on that Working Group as a physicist representing the environmental organization 350 Hawai‘i. Other members include representatives from HSEO, the Departments of Health and Land and Natural Resources, the Public Utilities Commission and the University of Hawai‘i, along with invited members from the U.S. Navy, nuclear power lobby groups and environmental groups. No Kanaka Maoli-led organizations such as the Office of Hawaiian Affairs or KAHEA were included — a serious oversight in any discussion of Hawai‘i’s energy future.

Nuclear power is not feasible in Hawai‘i because it faces insurmountable legal and technical barriers. Article XI, Section 8 of the Hawai‘i State Constitution prohibits the construction or operation of any nuclear-fission reactor without a two-thirds vote of each house of the Legislature — an exceptionally high bar without sweeping political change. Hawai‘i law also defines renewable energy as sources that are naturally replenished, such as solar, wind, ocean and geothermal — not technologies dependent on mining that produce radioactive waste. By legal definition, nuclear power cannot contribute to meeting the state’s renewable energy goals unless the law is changed.

Technical barriers are even higher. Despite growing hype around so-called “advanced” nuclear reactors, in reality, there are no operating “advanced” reactors anywhere in the world, no reliable timeline for when any might come online, and a decades-long record of cost overruns, cancellations and failed promises. Every design being promoted — from small modular reactors (SMRs) to molten-salt and thorium systems — is still a nuclear reactor that splits uranium atoms, generates radioactive waste and requires extensive cooling, shielding and waste-management infrastructure.

At our first meeting in September, there was discussion of whether Hawai‘i’s constitutional requirement for a two-thirds legislative vote to approve the construction of any nuclear-fission plant could somehow be avoided. That notion reflects a deep confusion driving this conversation: that “advanced” nuclear systems are fundamentally different from the fission reactors banned under Article XI. They are not. Some advocates even suggested that small “plug-and-play” SMRs could one day be shipped to Hawai‘i, used briefly and sent back to the continent — a concept that exists only in fantasy. Any nuclear reactor unit requires installation, grid connection and refueling — all of which constitute the operation of a nuclear-fission facility under Hawai‘i’s Constitution.

The first draft of HSEO’s report is due Nov. 5, with a final version to be submitted to the Legislature by the end of the year — a challenging timeline for such a complex report. How can anyone produce a thorough feasibility analysis — including cost, safety and environmental assessments — for a technology that doesn’t even exist? Even HSEO warned lawmakers in its testimony against this resolution that “given the current lack of cost, production, safety and nuclear waste-management information on SMRs, the formation of a nuclear energy task force is premature.”

Hawai‘i’s path forward in clean energy lies not in nuclear fantasies but in strengthening the laws protecting the islands and investing in what already works — solar and wind — and in exploring tidal and ocean energy resources to achieve clean, safe and independent power generation.

To read my full responses with citations to the Nuclear Energy Working Group survey, visit nuclearfreehawaii.substack.com.

November 14, 2025 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA