Ariz. governor vetoes “fast track” bill for nuclear
Gov. Katie Hobbs put the brakes on legislation that would have eliminated some of Arizona’s regulations and oversight of small modular reactors, technology that is largely under consideration by data centers and heavy industrial power users.
H.B. 2774 would have allowed large industrial energy users to build a SMRs in their facilities without needing a certificate of environmental compatibility. In rural Arizona, users would also be exempt from local zoning restrictions.
In her veto letter, dated April 18, Hobbs wrote that she supports “conversations around the responsible adoption of emerging technologies, including the potential deployment of small modular reactors that may help address generation capacity concerns. Unfortunately, this bill puts the cart before the horse by providing broad exemptions for a technology that has yet to be commercially operationalized anywhere in this nation.”
Response: House majority leader Michael Carbone, the bill’s sponsor, said in an April 22 news release, “Gov. Hobbs’s veto misses the mark.” He plans to revisit the issue in the next legislative session.
“H.B. 2774 wasn’t just about small modular reactors—it was about supporting rural Arizonans by helping rural communities attract new businesses like data centers and advanced manufacturing facilities that create jobs and general property tax revenue for rural counties—areas that are often overlooked by statewide economic development efforts,” Carbone said.
“New nuclear technology may still be emerging, but large-scale employers like data centers are actively expanding now,” he added. “Site selectors evaluating rural locations need clarity today about the future energy access to make multimillion-dollar investment decisions.”
Background: Nuclear currently accounts for 27 percent Arizona’s power, generated by the state’s sole nuclear facility—the three-unit Palo Verde plant—which is the second largest in the country and generates 32 million megawatt-hours each year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
In February, Arizona Public Service, the Salt River Project, and Tucson Electric Power announced that they are working together to assess possible sites, including retiring coal plants, to add nuclear in the state. The trio is looking at possibilities for both SMRs (units generating 300 MW or less) and potential large reactor projects, which could generate nearly five times the amount of power.
The three utilities said the nuclear study is part of long-range planning, since a new plant likely wouldn’t come on line until the 2040s, even once a site and design are chosen and approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
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