CARLTON (NBC 26) — Plans are moving forward to bring nuclear power back to the Kewaunee Power Station in Carlton, Wisconsin. Town officials and local residents are beginning to weigh in on what reopening the plant could mean for the community.
The Kewaunee Power Station in Carlton has been closed since 2013.
Watch below to learn more about the energy plant and what might be next:
Now, the company that owns it, EnergySolutions, is seeking government permission to restart the plant and generate nuclear power again.
"We're all hoping that a plant will be built back there again because there's nuclear waste sitting there, so we can't do anything with the property," David Hardtke, Carlton town chair, said.
Hardtke says the town only recently got details suggesting that reopening the plant could actually happen.
"About a year or two that we've heard about it. It's kinda off and on, but nothing concrete until they actually started looking for their first permits for it," Hardtke said.
Around town, several residents said they support reopening the plant, hoping it could bring back jobs.
One neighbor who lives just a few miles from the power station said that at one point, the plant actually offered to buy their land.
Neighbors on Nuclear Drive, directly across from the plant, were not available for comment.
For now, the company is conducting studies to determine if the site is safe and suitable for nuclear construction, a necessary step before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission can approve the project.
"I would like to see it because we would get our utility tax revenue back and a lot of jobs," Hardtke said.
The town chair says he was told that if the plant is approved, the earliest jobs could return to Carlton in 2038.
