Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
The Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant in Florida, 2017. Photo: Rhona Wise/AFP/Getty Images
Three developments this week together tell a story of the present and future of U.S. nuclear power.
Driving the news: A federal appellate court yesterday upheld New York's zero emissions credits (ZEC) program that subsidizes nuclear plants.
- The unanimous decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said the program is not preempted by federal electricity law.
- It's the second appellate decision this month upholding states' authority to subsidize nuclear plants, following the Sept. 13 Seventh Circuit ruling in favor of Illinois' ZEC program.
Why it matters: The decisions bolster efforts in several states to prop up nuclear plants facing severe market pressures.
- They're a win for advocates who fear that a wave of plant closures will be a huge step backward for the decarbonization the country's power mix.
- And environmentalists also welcome them as a blessing for states' powers to bolster renewables.
The big picture: The New York decision arrived a day after owners of a badly over-budget project to build two big reactors in Georgia struck an 11th-hour deal to keep construction going.
- However, that action was at most a limited win for the troubled nuclear industry.
- The Southern Company-led project is the only new commercial nuclear plant under construction in the U.S., and there aren't others on the horizon.
What's next: A new report says the path forward for new U.S. nuclear development lies with development and commercial deployment of small "microreactors" under 10 megawatts.
- The report from The Breakthrough Institute, the R Street Institute and the ClearPath Foundation says this "can leverage America’s comparative advantage: our unrivaled innovation system and entrepreneurial business culture."
- It calls for policy changes and support, including several contained in bipartisan legislation before Congress, to help develop and license these projects.