In 2011, after the Fukushima nuclear accident, Germany decided to shut down all nuclear power. The process was due to end last year but was extended in response to energy uncertainties caused by the war in Ukraine. As a result, Germany’s renewable energy generation continues to grow, but the country’s carbon emissions are only slowly declining.
The Biden administration has aggressively subsidized nuclear power plants to keep them running, and while there is no indication that the US will follow Germany down this path, the economics of nuclear power continue to grow for many plants. leading to the closure of Wind power is now her second most expensive primary power source after offshore wind power, and the cost of wind power continues to fall. Therefore, it is quite possible that nuclear power’s contribution to the US grid will shrink.
A new analysis finds that the current decline in nuclear power in the U.S. grid means enough additional pollution to kill more than 5,000 people each year, and that the burden of these deaths is disproportionate to black Americans. indicates that it will take But in a future grid where renewable energy is present at sufficient levels to offset nuclear losses, almost all of these additional deaths can be avoided.
Are there no nuclear weapons?
A new study sought to predict what would happen if the United States shut down all its nuclear power plants and replaced their power with a range of alternatives. was to simply use existing power sources (mainly fossil fuel plants) used for In additional scenarios, nuclear and coal plants shut down simultaneously, or some of the lost nuclear power is replaced by the expected addition of renewable energy sources.
These scenarios are clearly unrealistic. Grids are always in flux, with plants being retired and new generation capacity coming online each year, but without sudden all-or-nothing transitions like this one. But the simplicity of change helps researchers track changes in pollution as fossil fuel use increases to compensate for nuclear fuel losses. changes in particle and ozone pollution and their associated health effects. And knowing where existing power generation facilities are, researchers can track who is affected by changes in pollution.
Getting rid of nuclear power means revitalizing many of the older, underused plants, which mostly means coal. Even with these changes, the United States currently does not have enough spare generation capacity to cover all needs. The biggest problem is in Texas, where the power grid is already struggling due to extreme weather. The researchers found that without nuclear power, the Lone Star State would struggle to meet demand during normal summer heat. Requires the construction of power generation resources.
Clearly, shutting down both nuclear and coal will require a lot more construction. In this scenario, more than half of the US would struggle to meet current demand without new construction.
