핵심 청정 에너지 자원으로써의 원자력 (Nuclear Energy as a Keystone Clean Energy Resource)
본 보고서는 미국의 에너지 전환과 탄소 배출 감소 노력 가속화를 위한 원자력 에너지의 중요성과 정보를 제공합니다.
Over the last decade, the U.S. electric grid has gone through significant changes and is accelerating towards a carbon-free future. Stricter environmental regulations have forced many coal plants across the country to close; sustained lower natural gas prices in the wake of the Shale Gas Revolution and rapidly falling capital costs for renewable energy sources such as onshore wind and solar have resulted in a dramatic electric generation shift from higher CO2 emitting coal to lower CO2 emitting natural gas and zero-emitting renewable energy generation. As a result, U.S. power sector CO2 emissions have dropped by about one-third from 2005 to 2021. Throughout this period, nuclear energy has been a backbone of this transition. In its most recent report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)1 assessed that the world’s adaptation to climate change is happening too slowly. Moreover, about 3.5 billion people live in areas highly vulnerable to climate change. Although still achievable, the goal of limiting global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels requires an accelerated transition away from fossil fuels and toward zero carbon-emitting resources such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, and nuclear energy. Furthermore, recent global events like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have shown that U.S. energy is vulnerable to events abroad. As a result of numerous sanctions imposed by Western countries on Russia, like the ban on Russian oil imports, fossil fuel prices, including oil, natural gas, and coal, have skyrocketed globally. Consequently, fuel and electric power prices in the U.S. have seen a significant increase, highlighting the interdependency of the U.S. fossil fuel and electric power industries with world energy markets and geopolitics. Transitioning away from fossil fuels and embracing zero-carbon resources such as nuclear energy helps combat climate change and move toward energy independence. To date, at least 13 states have passed legislation or state regulations requiring their electric power sector to be 100% carbon-free before mid-century. In states without Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) or Clean Energy Standard (CES) requirements, many utilities have established their own voluntary net-zero carbon targets by no later than 2050, including some of the largest electric utilities in the world, like Southern Company, Duke Energy, and NextEra Energy. To achieve these goals, many utilities are looking to nuclear energy to provide valuable carbon-free electric generation in the future. As shown in Exhibit 1, carbon-free electric generating resources (nuclear, wind, solar, hydro, and other) accounted for 32 percent of the U.S. electric generation mix in 2012. Nuclear energy accounted for 20 percent of the total U.S. electric generation mix and almost one-half of electric generation from carbon-free resources. By 2021, zero-carbon resources accounted for 40 percent of the U.S. generation mix, with wind and solar accounting for the most significant increases since 2012. Nuclear energy continues to provide 20 percent of the total U.S. electric generation mix and about half of the electric generation from carbon-free resources. To achieve the ambitious decarbonization goals set by companies and states across the country, retaining and possibly expanding the share of nuclear energy in the U.S. generation mix will be immensely important. Nuclear energy’s unique operating characteristics make it an excellent complement to other renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro, and geothermal. Nuclear energy provides steady, reliable electricity year-round with relatively low variable costs and is much less susceptible to extreme weather impacts when compared to other generation sources. The retention of zero-carbon baseload2 resources, such as nuclear energy, is especially critical as more fossil fuel-based power plants retire. New and emerging nuclear technologies also focus on more flexibility and easier siting in the future. However, more education on the advantages of nuclear energy and its unique role as a clean energy keystone resource is needed to allow stakeholders such as public utility commissioners, utility executives, and others to make informed decisions. This report, commissioned by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) with support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy, aims to do just that. In March 2021, NARUC launched the five-year Nuclear Energy Partnership with support from the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy. The purpose of the partnership is to educate state public utility commissions on critical issues related to nuclear energy, discuss issues related to the regulation of the existing and anticipated future nuclear fleet, analyze new developments in advanced nuclear technologies, and facilitate the communication of federal resources and state challenges between DOE and NARUC members. This includes considering nuclear energy as a clean energy resource to meet state policy objectives. Although public utility regulators have varying levels of oversight over the generation of nuclear energy, given the diversity of regulatory environments across states, commissions play integral roles in approving cost recovery, granting Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity for construction of nuclear units, and overseeing ZEC and CES programs for nuclear generation. This report covers the following topics: • Overview of the current U.S. nuclear energy fleet and its unique role in the U.S. electric grid • Current treatment of nuclear energy in current state RPS and CES • Background on current and emerging nuclear energy technology • Other possible applications of nuclear energy in a zero-carbon economy • Current sources of nuclear fuel and management practices of spent nuclear fuel • Possible states and sites for future nuclear energy plants in the U.S. • The unique role of PUCs in facilitating the retention and advancement of nuclear energy in their respective states
국내외 전문자료
2023-08-31
국내외 전문자료핵심 청정 에너지 자원으로써의 원자력 (Nuclear Energy as a Keystone Clean Energy Resource)
- 국가미국
- 발행기관NARUC (국가공익사업규제협회)
- 원본링크https://www.smartenergydecisions.com/energy-management/2022/08/29/nuclear-energy-as-a-keystone-clean-energy-resource
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