Healey Hopes to Reverse Massachusetts Moratorium on Nuclear Power

The most serious commercial nuclear accident in U.S. history occurred on March 28, 1979, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. A malfunction in Unit 2 at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station on the Susquehanna River caused a partial core meltdown and the release of a small amount of radioactive gases.

Though TMI Unit 2 never reopened, Unit 1 restarted in 1985 and remained online until it permanently shut down in 2019.

The Three Mile Island accident had no significant human or environmental impact, but greatly affected the nuclear power industry, already under siege by activist groups such as the Clamshell Alliance and others who protested proposals for nuclear plants in Massachusetts and New Hampshire during the 1970s.

The National Conference of State Legislators says, "Twelve states currently have restrictions on the construction of new nuclear power facilities: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont."

Get our free mobile app

While Massachusetts doesn't have a complete ban on nuclear power, a moratorium was enacted in 1982 in response to the Three Mile Island accident. The Commonwealth's last nuclear plant, the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth, Massachusetts, closed in 2019.

The 1982 moratorium states in part that "no new nuclear power plant shall be constructed or operated within the Commonwealth" unless certain conditions are met, including approval from the state legislature and a majority vote of the electorate.

Stung by exploding energy costs for consumers and a shaky path forward for her renewable energy agenda, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey – who once bragged, "I stopped two gas pipelines from coming into this state" – is looking to spark interest in nuclear power.

It will be interesting to see if Massachusetts, at the forefront of the anti-nuclear movement, is ready to embrace Healey's proposal for "cutting-edge nuclear technologies."

Healey, who faces re-election in 2026, has released the "Energy Affordability, Independence, and Innovation Act," which she says could save ratepayers $10 billion over 10 years.