Nuclear Power Bill on Hold in Indiana

An initiative in Indiana to provide incentives for companies to invest in clean energy, including nuclear power, is stalling because of recent events in Japan.

The incentives could have lead to the building of Indiana's first nuclear power plant.

But any such plans may have to wait.

Indiana Senate President David Long (R-Fort Wayne) says his state will need additional sources of energy in the coming years.

But Long says the earthquake in Japan that caused extensive damage to a nuclear plant there is forcing more review of Senate Bill 251.

"We need to take a step back, try to understand how this happened, what the circumstances were, was it human error, was it all caused by the natural disaster? If so, what part of it, was it the tsunami, was it the earthquake," Long says. "We don't have the answers to that right now, and we need to have some answers."

Past nuclear attempts in Indiana included the building of a nuclear power plant in Porter County.

Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) proposed building the Bailly Nuclear 1 Power Plant in the 1970s and 1980s along Lake Michigan.

But opponents and the 1979 accident at Three Mile Island forced NIPSCO to scrap its plans just two years later.

Indiana continues to need additional sources of energy since a study group told state legislators that the state will likely need 30 percent more electricity by 2015.

This at a time when the Obama administration plans to clamp down on coal-fired power plants to reduce pollution.

Indiana gets most of its energy from coal.