The Biden administration is launching a $6 billion effort to save financially distressed nuclear plants in the United States, a major investment that comes as it seeks to deliver on its goals of expanding domestic energy production and reducing carbon emissions.
The $6 billion allocation is the largest-ever federal investment aimed at saving aging U.S. commercial nuclear reactors, whose owners have struggled to foot the bill for high maintenance costs and compete with lower-priced natural gas alternatives.
In the past 10 years alone, these financial constraints have forced closures of a dozen U.S. nuclear facilities before their licenses expired — including New York’s Indian Point Energy Center, Massachusetts’s Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, Nebraska’s Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station, and Iowa’s Duane Arnold Energy Center.
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Remaining U.S. nuclear plants are vulnerable as well: According to the Department of Energy, at least one-quarter of remaining nuclear plants are “at risk” in the U.S., while the operators of seven active reactors have announced plans to retire them by 2025.
“U.S. nuclear power plants contribute more than half of our carbon-free electricity, and President Biden is committed to keeping these plants active to reach our clean energy goals,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.
“We’re using every tool available to get this country powered by clean energy by 2035, and that includes prioritizing our existing nuclear fleet to allow for continued emissions-free electricity generation and economic stability for the communities leading this important work,” she added.
Nuclear plants are responsible for about 20% of total U.S. electricity generation, in addition to accounting for more than 50% of all clean energy generation. There are currently 55 active commercial nuclear plants in the U.S., with 93 total reactors, according to the Associated Press.
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Keeping these remaining plants open and operational is critical if the Biden administration hopes to deliver on its goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
