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Title: The Carbon Value of Nuclear Power Plant Lifetime Extensions in the United States

Journal Article · · Nuclear Technology
 [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Joint Global Change Research Institute, 5825 University Research Court, Suite 3500, College Park, Maryland 20740
  2. Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Lemont, Illinois 60439
  3. Idaho National Laboratory, 2525 Fremont Avenue, Idaho Falls, Idaho 83402
+ Show Author Affiliations

Nuclear power is currently the single largest carbon-free source of electricity in the United States. The climate mitigation cost savings of the existing U.S. nuclear fleet is denominated in hundreds of billions of dollars [net present value (NPV)] based on an integrated assessment modeling of the U.S. energy system within a globally consistent framework. Lifetime extensions of the existing nuclear fleet from 40 years to 60 and 100 years resulted in $330 billion to $500 billion (all figures are in U.S. dollars) (NPV) of mitigation cost savings for the United States under a deep decarbonization scenario consistent with limiting global temperature change to 2°C. The addition of new nuclear deployments in the United States increased the total U.S. mitigation cost savings of the 2°C climate goal by up to $750 billion (NPV). Immediate actions are required in the United States and globally to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by mid-century, and once achieving net-zero emissions, they must remain at net-zero indefinitely. Lifetime extensions of the existing nuclear fleet, in the United States and globally, support urgent near-term emissions reduction goals. Additionally, the longevity of nuclear power technologies reduces the need for new capacity additions of all carbon-free electricity sources and supports long-term actions necessary to maintain net-zero emissions.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
Grant/Contract Number:
FT-20PN12010304; AC02-06CH11357; AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1826206
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1869706; OSTI ID: 1971349
Report Number(s):
PNNL-30297; 1
Journal Information:
Nuclear Technology, Journal Name: Nuclear Technology Vol. 208 Journal Issue: 5; ISSN 0029-5450
Publisher:
Informa UK LimitedCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (8)

GCAM v5.1: representing the linkages between energy, water, land, climate, and economic systems journal January 2019
Analyzing major challenges of wind and solar variability in power systems journal September 2015
Nuclear energy response in the EMF27 study journal March 2014
US nuclear power: The vanishing low-carbon wedge journal July 2018
The marker quantification of the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway 2: A middle-of-the-road scenario for the 21st century journal January 2017
Going nuclear for climate mitigation: An analysis of the cost effectiveness of preserving existing U.S. nuclear power plants as a carbon avoidance strategy journal July 2017
Climate change mitigation and electrification journal May 2012
Cost of power or power of cost: A U.S. modeling perspective journal September 2017

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