Nuclear plants are not cheap to run, and the Pilgrim and Vermont Yankee plants closed in recent years amid stiff competition posed by natural gas. State-sanctioned clean energy contracts won’t spur any reactors to get built, at least not in the near future. But they could help ensure the last two in the region — Millstone in Connecticut and Seabrook in New Hampshire — stay in business.
The Legislature’s Energy Committee co-chairs, Representative Jeff Roy and Senator Mike Barrett, say they’re on board with treating nuclear power, in state law, as a clean source of electricity. While they face a July 31 deadline for reaching an agreement on a broader climate bill, they both seem to agree on this aspect of it.
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Both of them like the fact these reactors do not cause significant carbon emissions. Roy has filed legislation that would add existing nuclear energy — essentially Millstone and Seabrook — to the definition of “clean energy generation,” a change he hopes to include in that climate bill.
Together, Dominion-owned Millstone and NextEra’s Seabrook support at least one-fifth of New England’s power needs, making nuclear the region’s second biggest fuel for electricity generation after natural gas. Connecticut is buying half of Millstone’s power through 2029, to help keep the plant open after Dominion several years ago said it would otherwise no longer be economical to run. Will Massachusetts be the next in line?
Previous Massachusetts clean energy laws have left nuclear out. In 2016, the Legislature approved a law to prompt the state’s three big electric utilities to enter into long-term contracts to buy clean energy, aimed at tapping Canadian hydroelectricity. Those contracts helped finance a transmission line, currently under construction through Maine’s western woods, to import that power from Quebec.
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Next came offshore wind: The $4 billion Vineyard Wind project is going up south of Martha’s Vineyard, thanks to a carve-out in the 2016 law for that sector. However, contracts from two subsequent rounds aimed at spurring more offshore wind farms have been scuttled due to rising costs, and they are now being rebid.
This year’s climate bill probably won’t include another expansion tailored for offshore wind, Roy said. Instead, the bill would likely offer another round of contracts for “clean energy” more broadly, allowing owners or developers of hydropower, wind, solar, and nuclear plants to compete for these long-term contracts, which are ultimately funded by utility customers.
The best price usually wins. This time around, Hydro-Quebec no longer has a big surplus of power to send our way. Meanwhile, Millstone and Seabrook may finally get to join the contest.
“Knowing this energy exists and is available and is relatively inexpensive, we ought to include it within the menu of options and, at a minimum, look at nuclear as a transition fuel [to a cleaner grid],” Roy said. “The more options we have on the table, the better it will be for ratepayers.”
Barrett shares his counterpart’s view. “Nuclear should be part of the mix,” Barrett said. “There’s an acceptance now that nuclear needs to be on par with other non-emitting sources. That’s movement, and that’s a good thing.”
The concept unsurprisingly drew upbeat reactions from NextEra and Dominion; both issued brief statements saying their reactors are critical to helping New England keep the lights on and reach its climate goals.
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So why is it nuclear energy’s time to shine on Beacon Hill?
The state’s next big carbon reduction deadline is fast approaching in 2030, with only one offshore wind farm up and running, and the next one is expected to be far more expensive than Vineyard Wind. Meanwhile, other states are increasingly adopting pro-nuclear policies: Christine Csizmadia of the Nuclear Energy Institute trade group says Idaho, North Carolina, Tennessee and Utah all passed measures in the past year defining nuclear as a form of clean energy. And it probably doesn’t hurt that two well-connected lobbying firms are making the case at the State House: Smith, Costello & Crawford represents Dominion in Massachusetts, while Dempsey Associates reps NextEra.
Another factor: Some environmental groups have recognized the role nuclear power can play in helping to avert catastrophic climate change. Conservation Law Foundation president Brad Campbell said CLF has long supported policies, such as Roy’s legislation, that promote the climate benefits of the Millstone and Seabrook reactors, as long as they operate safely and the cost is reasonable and fair for the families and businesses that pay the bills. Likewise, Amy Boyd Rabin at the Environmental League of Massachusetts says safe use of the existing reactors should be on the table, at least in the near term, as the region’s leaders try to wean the grid off natural gas and oil.
Not everyone is a fan. Vick Mohanka, head of the Sierra Club’s Massachusetts chapter, said his group would likely oppose the move. He’s skeptical that New England’s two nuclear plants need ratepayer help, in the form of long-term contracts, to stay open or that the public should be even providing that assistance; better, he said, to focus on contracts that bring new sources of clean energy online.
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Meanwhile, in D.C., hope for nuclear power springs eternal.
Only three new nuclear power reactors have come online in the country in this century; two of them recently opened in Waynesboro, Ga., after massive construction delays, big federal loan guarantees, and $35 billion in spending. Speaking at the Georgia plant last month, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the country needs to triple its nuclear generating capacity to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The general response from the industry: Good luck with that. Maybe the much-discussed small modular reactors finally arrive, offering nuclear power at a more reasonable price. Or, dare to dream, fusion finally becomes viable — avoiding the radioactive waste issue that still haunts conventional nuclear power.
Until that happy day, we’ll likely see more state policies aimed at keeping the existing fleet in business.
And this summer, assuming the clock doesn’t run out first, Massachusetts lawmakers could end up plugging into the growing trend.
Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him @jonchesto.
