Potential greenhouse gas risk led by renewable energy crowding out nuclear power

Abstract

Summary Increasing variable renewable energy (VRE) is one of the main approaches for greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation. However, we find a GHG increase risk associated with increasing VRE: VRE crowds out nuclear power (VRECON) but cannot fully obtain the left market share, which is obtained by fossil energy. We developed an integrated dispatch-and-investment model to estimate the VRECON GHG-boosting effect in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland Interconnection and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. In the above two markets, VRECON could increase the annual GHG emission by up to 136 MTCO 2 eq totally. Furthermore, we find that the VRECON GHG-boosting effect can be mitigated by combining wind and solar power. We argue that, for GHG abatement, policymakers should require the proper mix of wind and solar power in renewable portfolio standards and control nuclear power’s retirement pace to match the progress of VRE growth.

The Janus‐Faced Role of Renewable Energy Development in Global Carbon Reduction Under Renewable Energy Policies

“…However, RES shows a negative mediation effect, suggesting that the RES spurred by REPs may increase carbon emissions. Existing research attributes the carbon‐increasing effects of RED to a surge in energy consumption during the early stages of RED (Kabeyi & Olanrewaju, 2022), the crowding out effect on other clean energy sources like nuclear power (X. Zhao et al., 2022), the absence of storage technologies addressing intermittent supply issues (Qudrat‐Ullah, 2022), and additional FE consumption to meet peak load requirements (Apergis et al., 2010). Nevertheless, current studies have overlooked some other critical factors.…”

Disposal methods for radioactive waste from nuclear power plants and environmental radiation monitoring methods

“…Thus, nuclear energy, as a low-carbon energy source, can provide an ideal combination of energy (i.e. heat, electrons and radiation) to meet activation and/or CO2 conversion requirements [4].…”

The Effectiveness and Trade-Offs of Renewable Energy Policies in Achieving the Dual Decarbonization Goals in China: A Dynamic Computable General Equilibrium Analysis

“…They also found that renewable energy policies could play a vital role in achieving China’s carbon peak goal before 2030, such as carbon market [ 19 , 20 ], reduction in fossil-fuel subsidies [ 21 , 22 , 23 ], electricity market reform [ 17 , 24 , 25 ], renewable energy portfolio standards [ 26 , 27 ], and mix of other policies [ 28 , 29 ]. Nevertheless, several recent studies have found that current renewable energy policies are not able to abate CO 2 emissions effectively [ 30 , 31 , 32 ]. For example, Guo et al (2021) found that the improvement of renewable energy technologies could not prevent carbon emissions from continuously increasing toward 2030, and the carbon peak goal may not be realized [ 30 ].…”

“…Cao et al (2021) also suggested that the single policy of the carbon market could not achieve the carbon neutrality goal, and more ambitious policies are needed, such as rapid electrification and deep economic transformation [ 31 ]. Furthermore, Zhao and Zhong et al (2022) even found that the incremental consumption of renewable energy would increase carbon emissions, as the development of renewable energy may crowd out nuclear power and increase the peak-shaving demand for fossil-fired electricity [ 32 ]. Furthermore, to our knowledge, previous studies have not explicitly examined and compared the effectiveness of different renewable energy policies in achieving China’s carbon neutrality goals.…”