I have posted before about the economics of nuclear power. Nuclear power plants are being shut down in the U.S. because the operators cannot make a profit due to the cost of repairs and the availability of cheap natural gas. It used to be that nuclear plant operators could count on a guaranteed price for twenty years for their electricity even if they could not compete in the open market for power. If operators cannot demonstrate that they can make a profit with their nuclear power plant, the NRC will pull their license and they will have to shut down and decommission the plants.
Lately, Exelon Corporation has been complaining that without government assistance, it will not be able to keep four nuclear power reactors operating in the state of Illinois. Now the Illinois House has approved a resolution strongly supported by Exelon that would guarantee nuclear and coal would be the main sources of electricity in Illinois for decades to come. The Speaker of the Illinois House used an obscure rule that permitted him to temporarily dismiss six members of the House Environmental Committee whom he feared would vote against bringing the new legislation out of committee. This is the sort of legislative maneuvering that has been adopted in many Republican run states when dealing with policies that may not enjoy widespread public support.
Critics of the resolution point out that it would mandate the use of nuclear power in Illinois. In addition, they charge that the Illinois Speaker of the House has been conspiring with Exelon to prevent improving the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (REPS) law. Apparently, in exchange for killing a fix to the REPS, Exelon will continue to operate the unprofitable reactors it was threatening to close. Under the agreement, Exelon would get "clean energy credits" like solar and wind energy production currently receive. Using nuclear power plants as pollution offsets would allow coal power plants to keep operating which would otherwise have to be closed due to EPS regulations.
The Illinois State legislature granted ComEd ten years of rate increases in order for them to finance the completion of a "smart" electrical grid. The smart grid would help replace the old centralized baseload utility system with a system that would make the expansion of renewable sources of energy more practical. The legislation supported by Exelon would enshrine the centralized baseload model and block the way for adoption of more renewable energy sources for decades.
The nuclear power industry has been decrying the subsidies, mandates and tax credits currently being enjoyed by renewable energy production. It is hypocritical in the extreme for the nuclear industry to have enjoyed decades of enormous government support while claiming that renewables just can't compete in the open market. Now that renewables are starting to beat out coal, oil and nuclear in the free market, the nuclear industry is seeking even more government support because they cannot compete. It is far past time to end the use of nuclear power to generate electricity. We cannot afford it.
Exelon nuclear power plant in Byron, Illinois:
