Is nuclear power sustainable in a carbon-free world? The case of Sweden.

Politicians and the public alike doubt the ability of nuclear power in the United States to compete as a significant low-carbon emission contributor to electricity production in a fully decarbonized electricity sector. Establishing whether or not these doubts are justified is challenged by the complexity of the highly disaggregated US electricity markets, including the highly varied mix of subsidies, production credits, and power purchase mandates that exist at the individual state level. The authors focus on answering the question of nuclear power's competitiveness by examining the electricity market of Sweden, a nation which has already fully decarbonized its electricity sector, basing its electricity generation entirely on a mix of hydroelectric power, nuclear power, and the use of biofuels, with much smaller contributions from renewables such as solar PV and wind-generated power. In this market, nuclear power is an effective competitor against renewable power generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]