Nuclear Power and Global Warming

Although some environmentalists have been celebrating another round of nuclear plant closings that began in 2013, others are reconsidering their long-standing opposition. In an open letter "to those influencing environmental policy but opposed to nuclear power," four climate and energy scientists stated that "continued opposition to nuclear power threatens humanity’s ability to avoid dangerous climate change." Ken Calderia of the Carnegie Institution for Science, Kerry Emanuel at MIT, James Hansen of Columbia University, and Tom Wigley at the University of Adelaide asked environmental leaders to demonstrate their "concern about risks from climate damage by calling for the development and deployment of advanced nuclear energy."

But if electric utilities are going to build enough new reactors to maintain nuclear’s 20 percent market share, they will have to start soon. Approximately 30,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity will be nearing retirement in the early 2030s, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute, an organization that represents the nuclear power industry. "Some of this capacity will likely seek a second license renewal to operate past 60 years, but some will not. Even with zero growth in electricity demand, that capacity must be replaced and, in a carbon-constrained world, it must be replaced with other baseload — i.e., non-intermittent — carbon-free generating capacity."

The Clean Power Plan could push electric utilities in that direction, but the U.S. Supreme Court has put implementation on hold pending a legal challenge led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit plans to hear oral arguments in late September. Executives at both Duke Energy and Dominion Resources say the final disposition of the Clean Power Plan could have a substantial effect on their decisions to build nuclear reactors.