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Considering the nuclear option: Hidden benefits and social costs of nuclear power in the U.S. since 1970

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  • Adler, David B.
  • Jha, Akshaya
  • Severnini, Edson

Abstract

Although burning fossil fuels has environmental consequences, many countries have switched away from nuclear power in favor of fossil-fuel fired electricity production after incidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima. This study estimates the substitution between nuclear and fossil-fuel fired electricity generation in the United States. Using an event-study framework, we leverage nuclear plant openings from 1970 to 1995 and forced nuclear plant outages from 1999 to 2014. Plant openings (nuclear outages) reduce (increase) monthly net coal-fired generation by approximately 200 GWh, implying a considerable reduction (increase) in emissions. We find that the substitution between nuclear and coal is not one-to-one, as has been assumed in prior literature. After establishing these stylized facts, we explore the potential underlying forces driving the observed substitution between coal and nuclear.

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  • Adler, David B. & Jha, Akshaya & Severnini, Edson, 2020. "Considering the nuclear option: Hidden benefits and social costs of nuclear power in the U.S. since 1970," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:resene:v:59:y:2020:i:c:s0928765519301198
    DOI: 10.1016/j.reseneeco.2019.101127
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