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Early nuclear retirements in deregulated U.S. markets: Causes, implications and policy options

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  • Haratyk, Geoffrey

Abstract

Electricity prices have fallen significantly since 2008, putting commercial nuclear reactors in the United States under substantial financial pressure. In this market environment driven by persistently low natural gas prices and stagnant electricity demand, we estimate that about two thirds of the 102GW nuclear capacity are uncompetitive over the next few years under the current trajectory. Among those, 18GW are retiring or are merchant plants at high risk of retiring prematurely.

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  • Haratyk, Geoffrey, 2017. "Early nuclear retirements in deregulated U.S. markets: Causes, implications and policy options," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 150-166.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:110:y:2017:i:c:p:150-166
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2017.08.023
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    Cited by:

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    2. Yuan, Mengyao & Tong, Fan & Duan, Lei & Dowling, Jacqueline A. & Davis, Steven J. & Lewis, Nathan S. & Caldeira, Ken, 2020. "Would firm generators facilitate or deter variable renewable energy in a carbon-free electricity system?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    3. Olukunle O. Owolabi & Toryn L. J. Schafer & Georgia E. Smits & Sanhita Sengupta & Sean E. Ryan & Lan Wang & David S. Matteson & Mila Getmansky Sherman & Deborah A. Sunter, 2021. "Role of Variable Renewable Energy Penetration on Electricity Price and its Volatility Across Independent System Operators in the United States," Papers 2112.11338, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2022.
    4. Hsiao, Cody Yu-Ling & Chen, Hsing Hung, 2018. "The contagious effects on economic development after resuming construction policy for nuclear power plants in Coastal China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 291-302.
    5. Reimers, Andrew & Cole, Wesley & Frew, Bethany, 2019. "The impact of planning reserve margins in long-term planning models of the electricity sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 1-8.
    6. Jia Zhou & Hany Abdel-Khalik & Paul Talbot & Cristian Rabiti, 2021. "A Hybrid Energy System Workflow for Energy Portfolio Optimization," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-28, July.
    7. Bah, Muhammad Maladoh, 2023. "State and federal nuclear support schemes in dynamic electricity market conditions: Insights from NYISO and PJM," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    8. Mills, Andrew D. & Levin, Todd & Wiser, Ryan & Seel, Joachim & Botterud, Audun, 2020. "Impacts of variable renewable energy on wholesale markets and generating assets in the United States: A review of expectations and evidence," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    9. Mills, Andrew & Wiser, Ryan & Millstein, Dev & Carvallo, Juan Pablo & Gorman, Will & Seel, Joachim & Jeong, Seongeun, 2021. "The impact of wind, solar, and other factors on the decline in wholesale power prices in the United States," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    10. SarahM. Jordaan & Afreen Siddiqi & William Kakenmaster & AliceC. Hill, 2019. "The Climate Vulnerabilities of Global Nuclear Power," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 19(4), pages 3-13, November.

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