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Nuclear power proponents gather in Columbia

American Nuclear Society CEO Craig Piercy is one of more than a dozen speakers featured at the nuclear summit held in Columbia. MU President Mun Choi and Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe are also scheduled to speak.
Abbie Nell Lankitus/ University of Missouri
American Nuclear Society CEO Craig Piercy is one of more than a dozen speakers featured at the nuclear summit held in Columbia. MU President Mun Choi and Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe are also scheduled to speak.

A daylong conference to explore pathways to advancing the use of nuclear power is being held Thursday at the Missouri Theatre.

A daylong conference to explore pathways to advancing the use of nuclear power is being held Thursday at the Missouri Theatre.

State officials announced in April that Missouri had been selected by the National Governor's Association and the U.S. Department of Energy to convene a nuclear summit.

The event is hosted by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and will include comments by Gov. Mike Kehoe, other state officials and local and national energy officials.

"The purpose of the summit is to bring nuclear back into the energy discussion for Missouri," Kurt Schaefer, director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, said in an email.

"Missouri sits at a difficult crossroads between sustaining increased demand for reliable power generation and decreasing air emissions," Schaefer said. "The summit's goal is to elevate the discussion on nuclear energy in Missouri to meet these two criteria."

The initial announcement of Thursday's program noted that Missouri has a single nuclear reactor which operates at the Callaway Energy Center and generates 14% of in-state electricity.

Attendance is open to the public for the event being held 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Missouri Theatre, 203 S. Ninth Street.

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The Columbia Missourian