Cost and systems effects of nuclear power in carbon-neutral energy systems

TY - JOUR

T1 - Cost and systems effects of nuclear power in carbon-neutral energy systems

AU - Zinck Thellufsen, Jakob

AU - Lund, Henrik

AU - Vad Mathiesen, Brian

AU - Østergaard, Poul Alberg

AU - Sorknæs, Peter

AU - Nielsen, Steffen

AU - Thøis Madsen, Poul

AU - Bruun Andresen, Gorm

PY - 2024/10/1

Y1 - 2024/10/1

N2 - Moving towards carbon-neutral societies, both nuclear and renewable energy can potentially supply CO2-free electricity. While the cost of renewable energy has decreased significantly, the cost of nuclear has, however, increased in the past decades and now in general exceeds the cost of renewables. However, one cannot compare directly the per unit cost of electricity since temporal behavior in the electricity production differs substantially between the two groups of technologies. Nuclear power inherently aims to provide a constant base load supply of electricity, while renewables generally depend on weather patterns. Thus, the two have different requirements and impact the overall system costs differently regarding flexibility and system design. Focusing on the case of Denmark, this article investigates a future fully sector-coupled energy system in a carbon-neutral society and compares the operation and costs of renewables and nuclear-based energy systems. The study finds that investments in flexibility in the electricity supply are needed in both systems due to the constant production pattern of nuclear and the variability of renewable energy sources. However, the scenario with high nuclear implementation is 1.2 billion EUR more expensive annually compared to a scenario only based on renewables, with all systems completely balancing supply and demand across all energy sectors in every hour. For nuclear power to be cost competitive with renewables an investment cost of 1.55 MEUR/MW must be achieved, which is substantially below any cost projection for nuclear power.

AB - Moving towards carbon-neutral societies, both nuclear and renewable energy can potentially supply CO2-free electricity. While the cost of renewable energy has decreased significantly, the cost of nuclear has, however, increased in the past decades and now in general exceeds the cost of renewables. However, one cannot compare directly the per unit cost of electricity since temporal behavior in the electricity production differs substantially between the two groups of technologies. Nuclear power inherently aims to provide a constant base load supply of electricity, while renewables generally depend on weather patterns. Thus, the two have different requirements and impact the overall system costs differently regarding flexibility and system design. Focusing on the case of Denmark, this article investigates a future fully sector-coupled energy system in a carbon-neutral society and compares the operation and costs of renewables and nuclear-based energy systems. The study finds that investments in flexibility in the electricity supply are needed in both systems due to the constant production pattern of nuclear and the variability of renewable energy sources. However, the scenario with high nuclear implementation is 1.2 billion EUR more expensive annually compared to a scenario only based on renewables, with all systems completely balancing supply and demand across all energy sectors in every hour. For nuclear power to be cost competitive with renewables an investment cost of 1.55 MEUR/MW must be achieved, which is substantially below any cost projection for nuclear power.

KW - Carbon neutral energy systems

KW - Carbon neutrality

KW - Energy system analysis

KW - EnergyPLAN

KW - Nuclear power

KW - Renewable energy

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85196197488&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.123705

DO - 10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.123705

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0306-2619

VL - 371

JO - Applied Energy

JF - Applied Energy

M1 - 123705

ER -