Four members of Governor’s Nuclear Policy Task Force to address Rowan’s June 9 conference on ‘Expanding New Jersey's Nuclear Generation Capacity’

Four members of Governor Sherrill's recently appointed Nuclear Policy Task Force are among the featured speakers for a full-day conference focused on the fiscal, regulatory and environmental challenges facing state government and industry leaders as they seek to build new full-sized or Small Modular Reactors (SMRs )to generate the electricity needed to meet rising demand.

Board of Public Utilities President Christine Guhl-Sadovy, who co-chairs the Governor's task force, will deliver the luncheon keynote. Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Ed Potosnak, Economic Development Authority CEO Evan Weiss, and Patrick O'Brien, Director of Government Affairs and Communications for Holtec, which is proposing to build SMRs at Oyster Creek in Ocean County, also serve on the task force and are among the featured panelists. 

Sponsored by the Rowan Energy Collaborative (ROWEC) and the Steve Sweeney Center for Public Policy, the conference is being held at Rowan University's Chamberlain Student Center, Eynon Ballroom, 201 Mullica Hill Road, Glassboro, NJ 08028, on Tuesday, June 9, from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. Attendance is free, and breakfast and lunch are included. To register for the conference, click here. For further details, see Events.

"New Jersey and the nation as a whole must be honest about the scale of energy demand that we are currently facing,” said Yolanda Mack, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Industry Partnerships and Workforce Development, Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering.  “Nuclear energy must be part of the solution if we are serious about driving down greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously supporting electrification, advanced manufacturing, growing data infrastructure, and long-term economic growth. Nuclear is one of the few carbon-free energy sources that can provide reliable generation at the scale this moment requires." 

Conference speakers include Senator John Burzichelli, sponsor of a bill designed to spur nuclear power plant construction now moving through the Legislature, and James Wyble III, Vice President, Americas Region, Westinghouse, and lead for AP1000 project development in North America. The AP1000 is the model that PSEG Nuclear is proposing to use for the fourth reactor to be built at its Salem County complex.

Other speakers include Steve Sweeney, the former Ironworkers Union international vice president and Senate President; Victor Ibarra, Senior Manager, Advanced Nuclear Technology, Clean Air Task Force; Daniel Cosner, President, Southern New Jersey Building  Trades and Construction Council; Howard Miller, Chief of Business Services, NJ Department of Labor & Workforce Development; Ken Robell, Vice President of Academic Affairs, Salem Community College, which has run a nuclear technology training program in partnership with PSEG Nuclear since 2010;; and Erick Ford, President of the New Jersey Energy Policy Coalition. Panelists will also include senior officials from PSEG Nuclear and IBEW Local 94.

Rowan President Ali A. Houshmand, Ph.D., and Chancellor Anthony Lowman, Ph.D., will deliver opening remarks. In addition to Sweeney and Mack, moderators will include Bob Gordon, former BPU Commissioner and state senator; Mark Magyar, Director, Sweeney Center for Public Policy, Rowan University; Dr  Elizabeth Cooner, Executive Director, State Policy Lab, Office of the Secretary of Higher Education;  Eddie Guerra, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Strategic Sustainability and Engagement, School of Earth and Environment, and Marie Casanova, Director of the Green Jobs Academy, Rowan University, and Co-Director of ROWEC.

“Through ROWEC and the Sweeney Center, Rowan University has been putting increasing emphasis on energy policy issues, recognizing the critical importance to New Jersey’s competitiveness of increasing the state’s energy supply in the most affordable and environmentally responsible manner. This is exemplified by the launch of ROWEC last February, our six energy conferences and the multi-year study on nuclear energy policy we launched last fall with a grant from the State Policy Lab,” Magyar said.  Magyar, Mack and Casanova serve as co-directors of ROWEC (Rowan Energy Collaborative).

ROWEC’s project on “Expanding New Jersey’s Nuclear Generation Capacity (see Expanding Nuclear Power in NJ ). Which received a seed funding grant from the State Policy Lab, is the subject of a panel featuring Christopher Peters, Ph.D., Associate Teaching Professor in the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering; Ethan Cantor, PH.D. student, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering; Ladarion Hardison, M.A. student, Urban and Regional Planning, with concentration in Geospatial Science and Methods, School of Earth and Environment; Daniel Carrasco, M.A. student, Public Policy, Ric Edelman College of Communication, Humanities and Social Sciences , Fiona Currie, CPA student, Rohrer College of Business, Martinson Honors College; and Maximilian Owens, senior Economics major, Political Science and Economics Department, CHSS;

“Our study addresses an issue affecting everyone in New Jersey: the supply and cost of energy,” said Guerra, the lead investigator on the State Policy Lab-funded study. “By delivering insights to inform state policy, our interdisciplinary team at Rowan University bridges nuclear engineering, economics, regional planning, public policy, environmental science, and business. This diverse expertise, combined with our talented students, positions Rowan University at the forefront of examining the practical challenges of expanding nuclear energy in New Jersey.”

“Through ROWEC and the Sweeney Center, Rowan University has been putting  increasing emphasis on energy policy issues, recognizing the critical importance to New Jersey’s competitiveness of increasing the state’s energy supply in the most affordable and environmentally responsible manner,” Magyar said, noting that June 9 will mark the Sweeney Center’s sixth major energy conference in the last three years. ROWEC (Rowan Energy Collaborative) was formally launched last February with Magyar, Mack and Casanova as co-directors.

Casanova underscored the importance of universities like Rowan, county colleges and union apprenticeship programs located near major energy facilities.

“As New Jersey looks to expand nuclear power generation to meet growing demand and strengthen grid reliability, workforce development must be treated as a core part of the supply chain,” she said “Just as disruptions in materials or logistics can delay projects of this scale, shortages of adequately trained and skilled labor can create bottlenecks and introduce risks that impact schedules, costs, safety, quality, operations and long-term success and security. Investing in training, education, apprenticeships, experiential learning and career pathways, with a collaborative and strategic approach, will ensure New Jersey has the workforce needed to build, operate, and sustain the next generation of nuclear energy assets and infrastructure.”

For further information on the conference, please go to Events or contact Sweeney Center Director Mark Magyar at magyarm@rowan.edu.