In a power-generation market buffeted by cheap natural gas, increasingly cheap wind and solar energy, demands for carbon-free fuels, environmental regulations, distributed energy resources, advances in energy storage and other innovations and changes, what role can nuclear energy play? In 2015, nuclear generated nearly 20% of electricity and 60% of carbon-free electricity in the U.S., says the Dept. of Energy. “Massive deployment of clean power technologies will be needed by mid-century to meet international commitments” under the Paris Agreement signed in December, DOE added in a draft report released in May.
Four reactors have shut down since 2013; across the country, plans have been announced to close seven others for a total loss of 11,939 MW. If the industry’s tide is receding, it will take with it thousands of megawatts of carbon-free baseload power capacity. In this turbulent market, DOE’s draft report, “Vision and Strategy for the Development and Deployment of Advanced Reactors,” aims to clarify the future of this major generation technology.