- Researchers at the University of Michigan evaluated 245 operational coal power plants in the U.S. for their feasibility as sites for advanced nuclear reactors, considering factors like socioeconomic impact, safety, proximity to populations, and existing infrastructure.
- The study highlighted Indiana’s R. M. Schahfer and AES Petersburg coal plants as the most feasible for transitioning to nuclear power, which can provide stable energy with zero carbon emissions, aiding economic revitalization in coal-dependent regions.
- The Siting Tool for Advanced Nuclear Development (STAND) was used for a comprehensive analysis, offering policymakers and utilities valuable data to support the transition from coal to nuclear power, potentially saving time and costs while retaining jobs and tax bases in host communities.
A team of researchers at the University of Michigan have scored a comprehensive list of 245 operational coal power plants in the United States based on each site’s advanced reactor hosting feasibility using a broad array of attributes, including socioeconomic factors, safety considerations, proximity to populations, existing nuclear facilities, and transportation networks. The results could help policymakers and utilities make decisions about deploying nuclear reactors at sites with existing transmission lines and a ready workforce.
In 2022, coal plants in the U.S. accounted for 20% of energy generation and 55% of power sector CO2 emissions. Nuclear power can generate the same stable base load of energy as coal but with zero carbon emissions.
“This dataset can support economic revitalization plans in regions affected by coal plant closures and provide information for engagement efforts in coal communities considering hosting clean energy facilities,” said Aditi Verma, assistant professor of nuclear engineering and radiological sciences at UMich and senior author of the study.
The research results indicate that Indiana is on top. The R. M. Schahfer coal plant in Indiana emerged as the most feasible smaller-capacity site for a coal-to-nuclear transition, while the AES Petersburg plant in Indiana was at the top of the list of larger-capacity sites. Indiana’s current reliance on coal power makes it a top contender for the transition to nuclear power. With no current nuclear power plants and having burned coal for 52 percent of its electricity net generation in 2022 and was the nation’s third-largest coal consumer after Texas and Missouri, according to the Energy Information Administration.
States making the shift from coal reliance to nuclear reliance can replace a coal plant’s stable baseload generation, but with zero carbon emissions. According to the study, choosing an operational coal plant as a new nuclear site can save time and money by taking advantage of existing equipment like transmission lines and power system components. Host communities can retain jobs and tax bases as coal plants are phased out. But the feasibility of reactor hosting can vary from site to site.
To include both technical and socioeconomic factors, the researchers used the Siting Tool for Advanced Nuclear Development (STAND) for their analysis. The tool’s ability to evaluate multiple sites simultaneously while balancing a suite of objectives offers a more scalable and robust analysis than previous studies, which focused on a few representative plants, according to the university.
“My hope is that this work, which looks at the potential for coal-to-nuclear transitions in a very granular way for each coal plant across the country, can inform the national and state-level conversations that are unfolding in real time,” Verma said.
