A recent report from the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) said the U.S. may be on the road to decreased energy diversity and increased reliability concerns.
The report said facilities that produce approximately 16 gigawatts are expected to be retired within a year and that 80 percent of these facilities are coal-fired plants. It is further estimated that 150 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity will likely be retired by 2040. Around that time frame, it is also suggested that coal-generated electricity will make up approximately 34 percent of energy generation. In 2000, they provided approximately 52 percent of national energy outputs.
Tightening regulations, economic factors and the increasing unpopularity of multiple forms of generation, including hydroelectric, nuclear and those based on fossil fuels could have the potential of leading to a less-diversified energy mix, leading to possible reliability woes.
These concerns are echoed by regional transmission organization PJM Interconnection.
“The region’s nuclear resources allow us to maintain fuel diversity (and will) become even more important for reliability purposes as more intermittent resources are added to the mix,” PJM President and CEO Terry Boston said. “From PJM’s perspective as a transmission operator charged with ensuring reliability for the region, it is critical that the nuclear fleet in our region remains economically viable.”
