Sen. Brooks McCabe, D-Kanawha, the lead sponsor of the bill, said even if a nuclear power plant is built in West Virginia, it is likely decades down the road. But he believes the message is a sound one if West Virginia wants the nation to take it seriously as an energy state.

“Our goal is to continue to be an energy state well into the future, and we should have a time frame of 25 to 50 years,” he said. “In that horizon, it would be less than prudent not to consider that option.”

The West Virginia Legislature banned the development of nuclear power in the state in 1996, citing that there was no safe place to store the radioactive waste left over from the process.

At the time it didn’t look likely the ban would have much of a practical effect. West Virginia’s large coal supplies provided most of the energy generated in the state. Also, no new nuclear power plants have been built in the United States in more than two decades, mainly as a result of vocal opposition and public fears stemming from the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl accidents.

But many people are starting to talk seriously about building new nuclear plants. One reason is that the nation’s energy demand is increasing and shows no signs of letting up in coming years. Another is that some see it as a greener alternative to coal, given carbon dioxide’s role in global warming.

Other countries, such as France, have safely used nuclear power for decades. McCabe said that every neighboring state except Kentucky has at least one nuclear power plant in its borders.

“There are a lot of reasons we should be paying attention to this,” he said. “I view it as an economic development initiative.”

Power plants provide a long-term, stable tax base for communities as well as a source of jobs, he said.

McCabe believes new technology will allow the nation to build safer nuclear power plants. The U.S. government has designated the Yucca Mountain Repository in Nevada as the main site for storing radioactive waste, although Nevada officials and many environmentalists oppose the plan.

The environmental community in West Virginia appears less than thrilled with lifting the ban. The West Virginia Environmental Council referred to the ban as one of its “proud accomplishments” on its Web site, and wrote that the future of energy depends on renewable resources rather than nuclear energy.

However, the bill has five other sponsors, including Sen. Dan Foster, D-Kanawha, and Senate Minority Leader Don Caruth, R-Mercer.

McCabe said nuclear power should just be one part of the picture in energy development in the state. It must continue to develop its coal resources and explore alternative energy options such as biomass and hydroelectric power, he said.

“Kind of a side advantage of this bill is at least we are talking about it,” he said. “We can never get anywhere unless we are talking about it.”