1,720,961 research outputs found
Electricity markets and policy uncertainty: external pressure points for nuclear decommissioning
Full text linkThis thesis provides an integrated assessment on the influence of electricity markets and policy uncertainty on nuclear plant financing, early nuclear power plant (NPP) shutdown dynamics, and nuclear waste management. The first paper investigates whether out-of-market support schemes were justified for state subsidised NPPs in the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) and PJM wholesale electricity markets over a five-year period between 2017 and 2021. The results indicated that for long stretches of time, the sample NPPs were in a solid financial position, relying solely on market revenues without the need for state support schemes (i.e., zero-emission credit schemes). The findings further suggest that under a dual state and federal support scheme system, the magnitude of excess profits would be substantial. The second paper takes a forward-looking approach and evaluates the electricity market impacts of a premature nuclear plant shutdown and the spillover effects on the long-term income conditions of NPPs. The paper developed a bespoke bottoms-up dispatch model for the NYISO and four regional electricity markets. Results indicate that shutting down upstate New York NPPs in 2018 and 2021 induced a slightly higher cost burden for New York consumers compared to the total zero-emission credit (ZEC) expenditures. In contrast, phasing out upstate NPPs in 2030 induced a lower cost burden compared to the total ZEC expenditure, mainly due to a high credit price. In the long-term, integrating a carbon price mechanism into the NYISO market would raise average NYISO prices, thereby enhancing the long-term income conditions of NPPs, and ensuring sufficient accumulation of nuclear decommissioning funds. The third paper explores the dynamic interaction between government policy decisions and firm investment decisions into a consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) using a simplified game theoretic framework. Results indicate that firms should always commit to constructing a CISF regardless of the government's final policy decision. The final government decision under various sensitivity iterations is an equal split between long-term contract and allowing firms to privately operate the CISF
Nuclear Decommissioning Profile USA
Full text linkThis report provides an overview of the legal framework and regulation for the decommissioning of NPPs in the U.S., as well as give an indication on current cost estimates and their accuracy. Additionally, it shows the current progress of the decommissioning process
State and federal nuclear support schemes in dynamic electricity market conditions: Insights from NYISO and PJM
Full text linkSince 2017, several U.S. states have put in place out-of-market financial support schemes for nuclear power plants operating in deregulated electricity markets. In late 2021, the federal government announced the introduction of two new support schemes to secure the continued operation of nuclear power plants. This policy paper evaluates the profitability of state subsidized nuclear plants in the NYISO and PJM markets over a five-year period between 2017 and 2021. Results indicate that apart from 2019, nuclear power plants were financially robust, relying solely on market revenues without the need for state support schemes. More importantly, the recent upswing in competitive electricity market prices suggests that additional federal-level support schemes are not economically justified in the current market conditions. I provide several suggestions to reconfigure the support schemes to reflect dynamic market conditions and ensure only vulnerable plants are granted out-of-market support
Early nuclear power plant retirement and policy choices in the New York electricity market
No full textThe U.S. nuclear industry has overcome a challenging period during which low wholesale market prices threatened the survival of nuclear power plants (NPPs). From 2017 to 2019, several U.S. states initiated out-of-market support schemes to bolster the financial conditions of NPPs. This paper provides a comparative cost assessment between the preservation of three upstate New York NPPs under the zero-emission credit (ZEC) support scheme or an early retirement. In addition, the paper explores future market development scenarios with a carbon price mechanism. A bespoke costminimization dispatch model is developed for the New York electricity market along with four neighboring electricity markets. The comparative cost assessment of a nuclear phaseout and ZEC expenditures is not definitive. Results indicate that phasing out upstate NPPs in 2018 and 2021 incurred a slightly higher cost burden for New York consumers compared to the total ZEC expenditures. In contrast, phasing out upstate NPPs in 2030 incurs a lower cost burden compared to the total ZEC expenditure, mainly due to a high credit price. Furthermore, results show that a low carbon price of 24.1/MWh, thereby improving the long-term income conditions of NPPs, and ensuring sufficient accumulation of nuclear decommissioning funds. The study provides policymakers with a sequence of optimal policy options taking into account the pace of renewable development
Early nuclear power plant retirement and policy choices in the New York electricity market
Full text linkThe U.S. nuclear industry has overcome a challenging period during which low wholesale market prices threatened the survival of nuclear power plants (NPPs). From 2017 to 2019, several U.S. states initiated out-of-market support schemes to bolster the financial conditions of NPPs. This paper provides a comparative cost assessment between the preservation of three upstate New York NPPs under the zero-emission credit (ZEC) support scheme or an early retirement. In addition, the paper explores future market development scenarios with a carbon price mechanism. A bespoke cost-minimization dispatch model is developed for the New York electricity market along with four neighboring electricity markets. The comparative cost assessment of a nuclear phaseout and ZEC expenditures is not definitive. Results indicate that phasing out upstate NPPs in 2018 and 2021 incurred a slightly higher cost burden for New York consumers compared to the total ZEC expenditures. In contrast, phasing out upstate NPPs in 2030 incurs a lower cost burden compared to the total ZEC expenditure, mainly due to a high credit price. Furthermore, results show that a low carbon price of USD 51/ton would raise average NYISO prices by USD 24.1/MWh, thereby improving the long-term income conditions of NPPs, and ensuring sufficient accumulation of nuclear decommissioning funds. The study provides policymakers with a sequence of optimal policy options taking into account the pace of renewable development
Quantifying the impacts of energy price reform on living expenses in Saudi Arabia
No full textAs part of ‘Vision 2030’, Saudi Arabia has initiated a broad-based energy reform programme aimed at gradually reducing its dependence on oil. This paper assesses the impacts of energy price reforms on living expenses of various household groups in Saudi Arabia. For this purpose, the input-output table combined with household expenditure data are used to model the impacts. Results show that the distributional impacts of energy price reforms are regressive, with low-income households experiencing a higher increase in living expenses compared to high-income households. The impacts are primarily instigated by rising prices of energy-intensive products. After decomposing the impacts into direct and indirect effects, it was found that indirect effect is not only responsible for a considerable rise in household expenditure on energy-intensive products, but it is also distributionally regressive. It is therefore vital for policymakers to review and fine-tune the social protection system to protect poor households against reforms
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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