nuclear-news

Extended subsidies for New Jersey’s nuclear stations

New Jersey utility board extends ZEC subsidies for PSEG nuclear plants, S and P Global, Steven Dolley Editor Valarie Jackson  28 Apr 21,  The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities voted unanimously April 27 to extend the state’s zero-emission certificate subsidies for PSEG Nuclear’s Hope Creek and Salem plants, payments the company said it must continue to receive if the plants are not to be permanently shut for being unprofitable to operate.

The board’s decision extends, until May 2025, a ZEC subsidy of $10/MWh provided to PSEG for generation from its Hope Creek and Salem-1 and -2 nuclear units in Hancocks Bridge, with a combined capacity of 3.736 GW.

PSEG officials have said, including at a hearing in March on the proposed extension of the ZECs, that the company would permanently shut the units if the subsidies were not extended, because they would be uneconomic to continue to operate.

…….. Opponents of the ZEC program have said that the subsidies are an unnecessary bailout of nuclear power, claiming that economic analyses had not demonstrated that such large subsidies are needed to keep Hope Creek and Salem in operation and renewable generation is a more desirable path for the state.

Jeff Tittel, director of the anti-nuclear New Jersey Sierra Club, said in an April 27 statement, “this is the third year in a row that the BPU rubberstamped these unneeded subsidies,” which “will take money away from offshore wind, solar, and energy efficiency programs in New Jersey. We are concerned that it will prevent this state from moving forward with our 100% renewable goals by 2050.”………… www.spglobal.com/platts/en/market-insights/latest-news/electric-power/042721-new-jersey-utility-board-extends-zec-subsidies-for-pseg-nuclear-plants

April 29, 2021 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, politics, USA