U.S. merchant nuclear power plants are losing money selling power into wholesale electricity markets. Two have retired early and more than a dozen are threatened. A recent state regulatory deal to save Davis Besse is promising, but faces challenges. The complicated cases and decisions discussed here are
Ontario Nuclear Flexibility[1] Nuclear power plants usually operate in base load mode, but might enhance value by flexible operation. In September 2015, I participated in a brainstorming session at the U.S. Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). The main topic of this session (and two earlier sessions) was how
Summer in Washington DC Hot weather and a more relaxed approach, including this Commentary – 17 interesting things about nuclear power, with pictures. See Buzz Feed Post 1. Sendai restart! Earlier this week (on 11 August 2015), the Sendai 1 nuclear power reactor was restarted
Merchant nuclear projects, created by U.S. electricity industry reform, sell power into electricity markets. Two merchant nuclear projects closed early (and permanently) in 2013 due to financial losses and others may retire early because of losses. Should the U.S. government to take action to prevent the early
A WSJ editorial, Rethinking the U.S. Surrender on Nuclear Power[1], suggests that the U.S. and other Western democracies have surrendered the nuclear power industry to Russia and China because of our approach to nuclear safety regulation. The editorial ignores other important factors leading to the difference in
Motley Fool published an article, Did Exelon Corporation Just Quietly Admit That Nuclear Power Is Dead? [1] on 21 April 2015. The clickbait headline was followed by a shallow and flawed analysis of an Exelon gas turbine purchase and by a foolish recommendation that Exelon replace its
This Commentary is a guest post by Tom O’Sullivan of Mathyos in Tokyo. Tom attended a lunch meeting at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan (FCCJ) on 2 April 2015, where His Excellency, Ahmet Bülent Meriç, the Turkish Ambassador to Japan, spoke on “The Current Dynamics in
Several U.S. states are moving to help merchant nuclear plants gain increased revenue certainty to prevent early retirement. Actions in four states, New York, Iowa, Ohio, and Illinois are discussed in this Commentary. My 4 February 2015 WNN editorial (“Can Nuclear Succeed in Liberalized Power Markets?”) explained
Nuclear Cash Flow Nuclear power investments require an adequate, certain, and long-term source of revenue. In the past, revenue certainty came from traditional government/regulated electricity models. In liberalized electricity markets, other approaches for revenue certainty are required. My 4 February 2015 WNN editorial was about the uncertain
Vermont Yankee nuclear power station The Vermont Yankee nuclear power station closed permanently on 29 Dec 2014. The closure of this well-maintained nuclear power plant with decades of remaining life was entirely due to the difficult economics of operating in a U.S. electricity market. The U.S. experience