U.S. Nuclear Plant Generation Continues to Drop, but Federal Funding Could Slow Trend

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--U.S nuclear generation declined in 2021 for the second straight year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), although the bipartisan infrastructure law that was passed last year allocates funding to prevent premature nuclear power plant retirements. Industrial Info is tracking more than $20 billion in U.S. nuclear plant decommissioning projects. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed project reports.

Click on the image at right for a graph showing nuclear plant dismantlement and projects in the U.S., by market region.

U.S. output of 778 million megawatt-hours from nuclear plants in 2021 was 1.5% less than 2020, the EIA said. Financial pressures from competitive wholesale power markets remain the primary cause of the plant retirements. Despite this, U.S. nuclear generation continues to operate at high utilization rates.

The bipartisan infrastructure bill allows for $6 billion in credits over four years to keep financially challenged nuclear power plants operating. Nuclear power is a low-carbon energy source, accounting for about 52% of the nation's carbon-free electricity. Closures could prevent President Joe Biden's vision for a carbon-free electricity sector by 2035. The Department of Energy is now seeking applications for up to $1.2 billion in credits this fiscal year. For more information, see Industrial Info's February 21, 2022, article - $6 Billion Program to Keep Financially Ailing Nuclear Plants Open is Now Seeking Applications.

But despite the Biden administration's efforts, three nuclear reactors are scheduled to retire in the coming years, according to the EIA; six generating units have retired since the end of 2017, including one last year.

Entergy Corporation (NYSE:ETR) (New Orleans, Louisiana) shut down Unit 3 at the Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan, New York--its last operating nuclear reactor. Entergy later sold the facility to a Holtec International (Camden, New Jersey) subsidiary that plans to complete the decommissioning activities, which are expected to last more than a decade. Subscribers can click here for the detailed project report.

This year, Entergy expects to retire the Palisades Nuclear Power Station in Covert, Michigan, with Holtec's decommissioning activities beginning in 2023. Subscribers can click here for the related project report.

According to the EIA, a subsidiary of California utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) (San Francisco, California), PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) (San Francisco), is expected to retire the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Station in Avila Beach in the middle of this decade, although the state could reconsider closing the plant, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told Reuters late last year. Click here for the detailed project report.

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