Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo) has introduced a bill that would count nuclear energy as emission-free under California's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS).
Cunningham says state law currently excludes nuclear and large-scale hydro power projects from California's RPS, even though they are carbon emission-free sources of power.
"Future generations deserve an all-of-the-above approach to fighting climate change. There is no reason why clean and emission-free nuclear power should be excluded from the state's push towards an emission-free grid," Cunningham said in a statement released Monday.
AB 2898 is expected to be heard in committee as soon as late March.
The new bill is similar to another bill, ACA 18, that Cunningham introduced in 2019; however, the AB 2898 would require a majority vote of the Legislature rather than a two-thirds vote.
