Overview
Despite recent challenges, nuclear generation remains a key carbon-free source of baseload power worldwide. More than 60 nuclear reactors are currently under construction in 14 countries, including 6000 MW of new capacity in the United States. While prospects of substantial domestic construction are muted by current low natural gas prices, expected coal plant retirements in coming years will enhance the need for new baseload generation and will support continued license extensions and capacity uprates at existing nuclear plants.
Bates White experts apply power industry expertise and economic analysis to address a range of nuclear generation issues, including new and existing plant value assessments, cost-benefit analysis of environmental compliance alternatives, market risk analysis, and spent fuel disposal matters.
Selected Work
- Provided consulting assistance to Ministry of Trade Industry and Energy of Korea on global and domestic nuclear power plant construction and decommissioning markets.
- Preliminary review of reported root causes for delays in the construction of the Alvin W. Vogtle and Virgil C. Summer electric generating plants.
- Review of outage scheduling of nuclear facilities in market models of various US and México electrical systems in market analyses for various clients, using different security constrained economic dispatch models.
- Conducted reliability studies on behalf of Exelon Corporation related to the potential retirement of the Zion, Limerick, Three Mile Island, and Oyster Creek nuclear generation stations. Performed Optimal Power Flow and Security-Constrained Optimal Power Flow studies.
- Testified in a regulatory proceeding related to a US Department of Energy proposal to subsidize economically distressed coal and nuclear units.
- On behalf of the Electric Power Supply Association, testified in Electric Power Supply Association et al. v. Anthony M. Starr et al.
- For a major US nuclear plant owner, conducted multiple economic analyses of the economic benefits of baseload generation from nuclear power plants, including estimation of the impact on wholesale energy market prices, peak hour impacts on power flows and locational marginal prices, and reliability impacts on the transmission grid.
- Conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the sources and causes of the DOE’s delay in beginning to accept spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste on the schedule specified under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 and the Standard Contract.
- As part of a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of the proposed merger between PSEG and Exelon Corp., estimated the value to the State of New Jersey of increased nuclear plant availability anticipated by the merging parties as a result of improved operations at PSEG’s nuclear facilities.
- Conducted power market projections and cost-benefit analyses of environmental protection alternatives related to the fueling of Salem Generation Station and Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant.
- On behalf of Westinghouse in opining on damages claims related to Westinghouse’s marketing of ultrasonic flowmeters used to support nuclear plan uprates, Bates White experts conducted a financial, technical, and regulatory analysis of commercial nuclear plant power uprates in the United States and internationally.