Electricity markets are making US electricity dirtier and riskier by forcing the early retirement of operating nuclear power plants. This is really bad news for the US electricity system. In May 2019, Exelon decided to retire the Three Mile Island unit 2 early, despite the plant having
US nuclear power companies face roadblocks in the export market. Without US government actions to resolve commercial and non-proliferation issues, US nuclear companies will have a hard time competing in today’s global nuclear market against state-owned nuclear companies from Russia, China, and other countries. The biggest opportunity
[18 Mar 2019 update, to reflect news about Seabrook and Millstone] Nuclear power is an effective way to reduce carbon emissions in the electricity sector. Keeping existing nuclear power plants in operation as long as possible is the most cost-effective way to do this. Yet, existing nuclear
[26 Feb update] Japan has set a target for nuclear electricity production in 2030 of 20% or greater at the same time that it is restructuring and reforming the electricity industry. Reforming the electricity industry while maintaining a viable nuclear power industry during and after the nuclear
Guest Post by Tom O’Sullivan Last weekend I led of team of 20 individuals, including academics, students and army & navy personnel, into the nuclear plant in Northern Japan that was destroyed in March 2011. The plant is based in Japan’s third largest prefecture, Fukushima, which is
IFNEC and NICE Future co-sponsored the “Challenges and Opportunities Facing Nuclear Energy in an Energy Transitions Context” event on 13-14 Nov in Tokyo at METI. I was honored to participate in this event on the role of government in nuclear power. Governments have and will continue to
Market Framework for Financing Small Nuclear The Expert Finance Working Group (EFWG) was convened by the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in January 2018 to determine key policies and a market framework needed to attract private financing to small reactor projects and to
Nuclear power has long-term value that may not be recognized by short-term commercial decision-making, but that is recognized by governments and others. About a decade ago, I helped a municipal utility consider an investment in the expansion of their existing nuclear power plant. We reviewed the analyses
When merchant nuclear plants are threatened with closure, you should think about market failure and ways to stop market failure to preserve the public benefits of nuclear power. The New Jersey plan to provide additional revenue to the nuclear power plants at Artificial Island should prevent market
On April 11, 2018, I visited the Fukushima Dai-ichi site, thanks to Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF) and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). This Commentary is a collection of my impressions. I was in Japan the week of 9 April to speak at the 51st Annual JAIF