New Jersey should rethink its nuclear power ban

By Paige Lambermont of CEI.

"Right now, the state of New Jersey has a significant amount of offshore wind power planned for the near future. As part of its net zero plans, the state has set  a goal of 7,500 MW by 2035. But as many of those projects are financially collapsing, and offshore wind projects elsewhere are physically falling apart, this is yet another reason for the state government to reassess the range of power sources available within its borders. One piece of low hanging fruit when it comes to reassessing its power sources would be removing the state’s moratorium on new nuclear power. 

New Jersey currently requires that a permanent repository for spent nuclear fuel be established before the public utilities commissioners are able to approve new nuclear power plants in the state. Current on-site storage at nuclear power plants across the country, including in New Jersey, has been safe for decades, and will remain so for centuries. 

Nuclear power has the highest capacity factor of any power source, operating 92.5 percent of the time on average. This is far better than wind’s average of 35.4 percent or even the average of other reliable sources like natural gas and coal. Removing the moratorium on new nuclear would allow utilities within the state to build reliable capacity to meet increasing demand.

New Jersey has two safely operating nuclear power plants, the Salem and Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Stations which are located on the same site. Together, these two plants are the second largest nuclear site in in the country producing enough power to supply three million homes. If on-site storage is appropriate for this site, why would the waste safety needs of a future plant be radically different?  

Power demand is changing rapidly. The main driver of this is increasing power demand from data centers. Goldman Sachs estimates that data center power demand will grow by 160 percent by 2030, other estimates are even more extreme. This will prove to be a huge driver for power demand, leading utility companies to seek to build new power plants. New Jersey’s net zero goal of 100 percent clean energy by 2050 (which it will struggle to meet regardless) may also make nuclear appealing in the state because it has no carbon emissions at the point of generation while producing reliable power. 

New Jersey is one of 12 states that partially or fully restrict the construction of new nuclear power plants. When power demand growth was relatively stagnant, and there was little interest from utilities in building new nuclear, these bans were not as obvious of a problem. Now that the economics of power production are shifting, and interest in building these facilities is rising, these bans have clear consequences for the power mix and the ability to reliably meet demand. 

As power demand from data centers and other sources rises in the coming years, New Jersey would be wise to keep a range of options on the table for new power demand. Removing the moratorium on new nuclear power plant approvals would be a simple way to give utilities the flexibility they will need to meet the coming challenge.   

A version of this article first appeared on Catalyst."