The Nuclear Energy Institute addressed industry experts at the recent U.S. Energy Association’s 12th Annual State of the Energy Industry Forum, stressing the importance of nuclear power plants in carbon reduction.
“Our 99 plants had a 91.9 percent capacity factor in 2015, which is the highest we’ve had,” NEI President and CEO Marvin Fertel said during the forum. "There are 99 nuclear power plants operating in 30 U.S. states, and Fertel said they can reduce carbon emissions and provide reliable energy for the nation.
Flaws in the electricity markets in New York, Massachusetts and Vermont led to the premature shutdown of power plants in those states, taking with it hundreds of high-paying jobs.
“We’re going to work with the states to try to do everything we can to ensure that nuclear plants get fair treatment in how we’re going to implement the Clean Power Plan,” Fertel said. “I didn’t think that the goal was just renewables. I thought it was to reduce carbon. We shouldn’t pit renewables against nuclear — we should figure out how they can work better together.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan calls for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from operating power plants by 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, and Edison Electric institute President Tom Kuhn said all energy-generating methods, including nuclear, will be needed to reach that goal.
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