2023 Miss America discusses benefits of nuclear energy at the Minnesota Rural Electric Association’s 84th annual meeting
“Nuclear enegy is being successfully used in nations around the world,” Stanke said. She discussed the safety of nuclear energy, the handling of spent nuclear fuel and the growing need in the United States for a resource that can run 24/7, 365 days of the year.
“It’s not a science problem; It’s a policy problem,” Stanke said about handling the spent fuel. She said spent fuel contains useable energy, but U.S. policy does not allow the reprocessing of the fuel. It is reprocessed in many countries around the world.
During the meeting held in St. Paul, Feb. 18-19, MREA CEO Darrick Moe warned of threats to reliability in Minnesota if the state doesn’t remove the moratorium on new nuclear plants.
“Minnesota needs to catch up – the nuclear moratorium is inappropriate,” Moe said. “MREA is leading an alliance of more than 30 stakeholders who are working to have the moratorium removed.”
Moe also discussed how laws that were made to help launch rooftop solar in the 1980s need to be reformed for the current energy environment.
“Rates paid for residential solar should not be used to support oversized systems that are paid for by their neighbors,” Moe said. “The law forces cooperatives to pay more for a resource that they could obtain more cheaply elsewhere.”
Moe also discussed the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) International Program that sent line workers from Minnesota and Iowa to Guatemala last June to help electrify rural villages. The International Program has connected 160 million people in 48 countries since the 1960s.
Several hundred electric cooperative member-owners and senior staff from around Minnesota attended the meeting. MREA’s Board Chair Wes Waller spoke about MREA’s accomplishments over the last year. He talked about the positive state of programs at MREA and highlighted the work being done on behalf of Minnesota’s electric cooperatives. He thanked the staff for everything that was accomplished in the last year.
Other reports at the meeting included Phil Irwin, Federated Insurance president and CEO, Tim Velde, board member of NRECA, Alison Deelstra, regional vice president of the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation, and CoBank’s Vicki Trees, vice president of electric distribution.
During the legislative day, held the day before the business meeting, members received a legislative update from Jenny Glumack, MREA’s director of government affairs, and heard a robust exchange between legislators during a panel discussion. More than 200 local electric cooperative directors and staff made visits to the Capitol to discuss energy policy with state legislators.
A special thank you to legislators on the panel: Sen. Nick Frentz, District 18; Rep. Patty Acomb, District 45B; Sen. Andrew Mathews, District 27; and Rep. Chris Swedzinski, District 15A; along with moderator Walker Orenstein, reporter for The Minnesota Star Tribune. The discussion among these energy committee leaders presented a lively cross-section of views relating to Minnesota’s energy policy.
The MREA District 4 members elected Liz Krocak, Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative, to the association’s board during the meeting.