Four southwest Missouri leaders appointed to nuclear energy task force

Gov. Mike Kehoe announced a slate of 23 members for the newly formed Missouri Advanced Nuclear Energy Task Force, including four from southwest Missouri. The first meeting is on May 11.

Established by a Jan. 13 executive order, the task force will be expected to evaluate and guide the state’s strategic approach to developing nuclear energy for at least three years, according to the order.

Last July, more than 550 scientists, lawmakers, local leaders, citizens and stakeholders met in Columbia for Missouri’s first Nuclear Summit. The task force is the next step.

“Combined with the upcoming Missouri State Energy Plan, the members of our Advanced Nuclear Task Force will help chart a clear and strategic path forward for Missouri’s energy future – one that supports reliable power, economic opportunity and long-term energy resilience for communities across the state,” Kehoe said in a news release. “New energy sources will support U.S. energy dominance and reduce reliance on energy imports.”

The members from southwest Missouri are:

• State Rep. Bob Bromley, R-Carl Junction, chair of the Missouri House of Representatives Committee on Utilities
• Warren Brooks, of Rogersville, vice president of electrical operations and electrical supply at City Utilities of Springfield
• Douglas Healy, of Ozark, an attorney at Healy Law Offices LLC, an energy law firm
• State Rep. John Black, R-Marshfield

Kehoe assigned Missouri’s State Energy Office, housed within the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, as the state’s lead on the task force.

“We are honored to have Gov. Kehoe lead the beginning of what we hope will be many fruitful conversations on the future of nuclear energy for Missouri,” said Kurt Schaefer, director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, in the release. “This is an important step forward to transforming existing conceptual plans for new nuclear deployment in Missouri into definitive and actional projects.”

Schaefer, of Columbia, will serve as the chair of the task force. Kayla Hahn, of Jefferson City, will serve as the vice chair.