Say NO to nuclear power mandates in S730 - market-driven options are better

As your constituent, I urge you to amend Senate Bill 730's "Ratepayer Protection Act" by replacing the mandate for nuclear power with language allowing the North Carolina Utilities Commission to employ a least-cost pathway approach to energy generation. The current language mandating nuclear energy will be extremely expensive for ratepayers and makes a farce of the bill's title. I support S730's data center regulations but oppose the requirement that baseload power plants cannot be retired until replaced by nuclear facilities. During House Commerce Committee testimony, Rep. Brandon Lofton made a critical point: mandating nuclear construction could require waiting years for facilities that may never be built, whereas the NCUC could achieve grid reliability much faster and more affordably through flexible energy solutions. Rep. Winslow asserts that renewable energy is unreliable compared to nuclear power. This premise is outdated and ignores nuclear's fundamental vulnerabilities. The water requirements for nuclear cooling render it vulnerable to climate extremes. In June 2026, inland nuclear plants in France shut down during heatwaves when river temperatures rose—at Nogent-sur-Seine and Bugey, reactors were forced offline to avoid killing the rivers they use for cooling. Imagine the same impact on Lake Norman. Coastal nuclear facilities face equally serious threats: Fukushima demonstrated that plants near coastlines are vulnerable to catastrophic storm surge and flooding. These are recurring operational realities, not theoretical concerns. Meanwhile, batteries have become so cost-effective that three-fourths of India's firm capacity additions are now solar+battery systems. Leading countries have met clean energy targets years ahead of schedule—China six years early—while maintaining superior grid stability and reliability. A 100-percent-solar microgrid powering modular data centers was successfully built in four months in the United States at lower cost than grid power. Nuclear cannot compete with that timeline. Regarding farmland concerns: solar production occupies just 0.24% of North Carolina's prime farmland, compared to 0.28% for golf courses. The data from the Solar Energy Industries Association shows these concerns are vastly overblown. More importantly, solar+battery is the only generation technology that can be located close to population centers without requiring farmland conversion. Rooftop solar sits on structures already integrated into the grid. This proximity to load centers means reduced transmission losses, faster deployment, and natural advantages over distant generation facilities. North Carolina's data centers require reliable baseload power, but the most economical and fastest path involves competitive market solutions, not legislative mandates. Empower the NCUC to pursue a least-cost pathway—this would maintain grid security while protecting ratepayers from unnecessary expenses. I respectfully request that you revise S730 to replace the nuclear mandate with language authorizing the NCUC to achieve baseload capacity through the most cost-effective available technologies, including renewable energy plus battery storage.