What if increased nuclear use for electricity generation is limited?
In the main S. 280 cases, new nuclear plants are a key technology the power sector is projected to rely on to reduce GHG emissions. However, many factors could limit their use. There are siting, environmental, political, and public opinion barriers to new nuclear capacity in the United States. While some companies are actively pursuing new nuclear plants at this time, especially due to the tax credits provided by EPACT2005, it has been nearly 30 years since the last new nuclear plant that was completed was ordered. There is also considerable uncertainty surrounding the costs and construction times for new units, as well as concerns over long-term nuclear waste storage. A No Nuclear case was analyzed to examine the impacts of restricting new nuclear capacity growth (beyond that added in the reference case) under the S. 280 Core assumptions. The allowance price in the No Nuclear case is 6 percent higher than the S. 280 Core case in 2030 and power sector CO2 emissions are about 3 percent
