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
2013 PJM Load Duration Curve Nuclear power plants are base load generators – due to economics. NECG Commentary #3 explains base load generation, the economic reasons that nuclear power plants operate in base load mode, and the capability of nuclear power plants to operate flexibly. Base Load
Electricity Market Clearing Short-Run Marginal Cost (SRMC) is an important factor in electricity markets. Bids into these markets are based on the SRMC of generators participating in the market. Bids are accepted, starting with the lowest bids, until bids accepted equal demand. All bidders are paid the
Electricity Industry Activity It takes up to 10 years to develop and build a new nuclear power plant that will then operate for 60 years or longer. Electricity markets and financial markets do not easily accommodate these long-term nuclear power plant assets. Nuclear power plant value is