Public Weighs In on Market Conditions Threatening Nuclear Power Plants

Deck: 

Examining the problem for nuclear power shows value in informing the public.

Fortnightly Magazine - July 2016
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As the price of electricity drops, due largely to abundant natural gas from fracking, some vital electricity resources are being lost and others are threatened.

It started with the shocking announcement in 2013 that Dominion planned to shut down the Kewaunee Power Station in Wisconsin, a well-performing 1,772 megawatt thermal nuclear power plant. The low price of electricity in the plant's market had made the plant non-competitive.

That's a permanent loss. Once a nuclear power plant goes into decommissioning, it can never be restarted. With other nuclear power plants following, the question has to be asked:

What should be done to create market conditions that prevent the loss of the nation's only zero-carbon large-scale baseload electricity source?

A nationwide public opinion survey this spring took a first step in engaging the public on this dilemma. The topic was addressed as part of a survey of a thousand U.S. adults, conducted for the Nuclear Energy Institute, from March 11 to April 11, 2016. Bisconti Research Inc. conducted the survey with Quest Global Research.

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