Nuclear Energy Institute commends New Jersey for recognition of nuclear energy

Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) President and CEO Maria Korsnick commended New Jersey for its recognition of the role that nuclear energy plays in a clean energy future at a New Jersey Board of Public Utilities hearing on Oct. 11.

The hearing was held to consider how to implement the zero-emission credit (ZEC) program that New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law earlier this year.

“By including nuclear energy as part of New Jersey’s generating portfolio, baseload non-emitting electricity will work in concert with wind and solar to deliver the clean energy that will propel the state for decades to come,” Korsnick said in her testimony before the board.

Zero-emission credit programs – like renewable energy certificate (REC) programs for solar and wind generation – are a mechanism to place market value on the zero carbon attributes of nuclear energy. These programs are necessary to prevent nuclear power plants from premature closure, Korsnick said.

“Wholesale markets that only focus on short-term operational costs have not been designed to reflect the broader social benefits of environmental protection, fuel diversity and grid resilience that nuclear plants provide,” she stated. “By establishing a ZEC program, New Jersey is exercising control over its energy future rather than allowing incomplete market signals to determine the shape of its electricity system.”

The Salem and Hope Creek nuclear plants in New Jersey are the state’s largest source of non-emitting generation. They provided more than 95 percent of the state’s carbon-free electricity and nearly 40 percent of its total electricity, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Through a ZEC program, these plants will save almost 14 million tons of CO2 annually.

Korsnick said successful ZEC programs are in place in New York, Illinois and Connecticut. The state should use these programs as a guide to put a program operation.

“Once the New Jersey program is in place, these four states will have preserved over 11,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity from early retirement. The electricity they will generate is more than all of the solar power produced by U.S. utilities in 2017,” she added.

Judd Gregg, who sits on the Nuclear Matters’ advocacy council, said the state would be almost completely dependent on natural gas if New Jersey’s nuclear plants were to close prematurely.

“I have seen this first-hand in New England,” Gregg, a former governor and U.S. senator from New Hampshire, stated. “I encourage the [Board] to take the widest possible view of the economic and environmental benefits of nuclear power when developing its guidelines.”