Pennsylvania has been a hotspot for nuclear energy because the creation of economic nuclear energy, which it pioneered with first energy from the 60-MW Shippingport Atomic Energy Station close to Pittsburgh in 1957.
As we speak, the state, the second-largest nuclear energy generator within the U.S., hosts eight working reactors. These embody Constellation’s 2.77-GW Peach Backside Atomic Energy Station in Delta, accomplished in 1974 and comprising two boiling water reactors (BWRs); Susquehanna Nuclear’s 2.6-GW Susquehanna Steam Electrical Station in Berwick, which got here on-line in 1985 and includes two BWRs; Vistra’s 1.87-GW Beaver Valley Energy Station in Shippingport, accomplished in 1987 and comprising two pressurized water reactors (PWRs); and Constellation’s 2.35-GW Limerick Producing Station in Pottstown, that includes two BWRs and accomplished in 1989.
However the state’s wealthy nuclear historical past has additionally showcased a number of revolutionary reactors, together with Saxton, an experimental reactor shuttered in 1972, and Peach Backside Unit 1, a helium-cooled, graphite-moderated reactor that operated till 1974. And regardless of the partial meltdown of Three Mile Island (TMI) Unit 2 in 1979, TMI 1, now owned by Constellation, continued to function till it was completely closed in 2019. (Microsoft earlier this month introduced a deal to restart TMI, probably shopping for all energy from the 835-MW reactor for at the least 20 years.)
Alongside these reactors, the state has traditionally hosted a burgeoning civil nuclear trade comprising superior analysis establishments, strong provide chains, and expert workforce growth applications. The state is concentrating on a stable revival of those industries as curiosity in new nuclear perks up. In October 2023, for instance, Westinghouse launched a brand new design and manufacturing facility close to downtown Pittsburgh that can home engineering and licensing operations, testing, prototype trials, enterprise growth, and gross sales for its flagship microreactor, eVinci .
However whereas promising, a nuclear revival in Pennsylvania comes amid a sequence of serious transformations within the state, which participates within the PJM Interconnection aggressive market, as Max Drickey, Vitality Coverage director at Group Pennsylvania, advised POWER in an unique interview. Group Pennsylvania, a public-private partnership between the state and trade, is tasked with the numerous mission of bringing collectively varied stakeholders to deal with vital points affecting Pennsylvania’s economic system .
POWER requested Drickey about how the state perceives challenges and alternatives as new prospects and enthusiasm for nuclear start to unfold.
POWER: Max, would you begin by explaining the function of Group Pennsylvania and the way it suits into the state’s vitality panorama?
Max Drickey: It is a great spot to start out. Group Pennsylvania has been round for 28 years now. It’s a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and nonpartisan group centered on Pennsylvania’s long-term financial well being. T he sitting governor of Pennsylvania [currently Gov. Josh Shapiro (D)] serves as one of many co-chairs of our board of administrators. The opposite chair is Pennsylvania enterprise chief. Presently, it’s Brian Jackson, a Managing Accomplice and Chair at McNees Wallace.
Group Pennsylvania’s board is a public-private partnership, and we conduct all of our work in public-private partnership, with a deep perception that a number of the most advanced points in Pennsylvania’s economic system require collaboration. Vitality transition is an ideal instance of labor that’s not the accountability of the personal sector or authorities alone. Nevertheless it’s additionally a subject that’s continuously caught up within the political fray. Group Pennsylvania’s function as a impartial convener and dealer permits us to carry collectively usually divergent views working towards a long-term shared imaginative and prescient. We’d argue that vitality conversations are occurring in a extra inclusive means and with a broader coalition of stakeholders dedicated to Pennsylvania’s vitality economic system because of Group Pennsylvania’s function.
POWER: Pennsylvania represents a very attention-grabbing mannequin for nuclear growth, on condition that it operates inside PJM, a aggressive wholesale energy market. This presents distinctive challenges and alternatives for nuclear energy. How is the state navigating this to steadiness assist for each its present nuclear fleet and future nuclear improvements?
Max Drickey: One of many key components informing Pennsylvania’s method to each our incumbent nuclear technology and the way forward for these property is the truth that our vitality market is deregulated. Which means that we don’t have the luxurious that different states have—the place they will present incentives to vertically built-in utilities to shift their technology capability. As an alternative, we now have to be extra strategic, extra ingenious, and much more cautious about ensuring we convene the best strategic stakeholders round these questions.
We have to pursue alternatives that make sense for our economic system. This has formed Group Pennsylvania’s focus during the last a number of years on areas like industrial decarbonization and behind-the-meter energy technology for sectors comparable to information facilities and chemical services. What may appear to be a strategic or structural drawback—working in a deregulated market with out built-in utilities—can truly turn out to be a bonus. Pennsylvania can function a proving floor for novel use circumstances for rising applied sciences.
Furthermore, making certain the longevity of those incumbent property is essential. The ability buying agreements we’re seeing, like these involving Talen Vitality and Amazon Internet Companies, reveal that there’s demand. It’s actually a matter of creating certain we push the door open additional now that it’s been cracked.
POWER: In comparison with so many different states trying intently at nuclear, Pennsylvania has the good thing about a wealthy nuclear historical past and substantial infrastructure. Would you clarify why that is poses a differentiator for the deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs), microreactors, or new nuclear purposes to assist new energy-intensive hundreds, comparable to information facilities and metal manufacturing?
Max Drickey: So, let’s take a half step again for a second as a result of I believe it goes past simply buyer purposes. It’s important to take a broader look when desirous about Pennsylvania’s function within the nuclear area. It goes again to the Nineteen Thirties, not simply in innovation and proving up this know-how but in addition in creating the workforce, provide chains, and superior forging capability. You recognize, America’s whole nuclear trade actually runs via Pennsylvania.
And so, if we’re speaking about SMRs or microreactors which can be going to be constructed at scale to drive the fee curve down, Pennsylvania stands to learn. If we’re discussing deployment alternatives, centralizing and consolidating provide chains , Pennsylvania makes a variety of sense. There are important value financial savings if you hold the manufacturing native.
One other vital level is that Pennsylvania has a variety of retired energy property. There’s a 2022 Division of Vitality [DOE] research that recognized round 11 websites with large-scale grid entry already in place. That is tremendously attention-grabbing and vital, particularly once we hear from PJM about reliability concerns. Texas isn’t the one grid that has skilled blackouts and brownouts in recent times, and there’s each indication that these points will proceed throughout our system. The Northeast is not any exception.
Turning to that buyer base, as publicity to the information middle query is growing, notably in states like Virginia, I believe builders are going to see that there are alternatives elsewhere. Pennsylvania is working laborious to modernize broadband infrastructure and put together websites . And, as you already know effectively, the ability calls for of those services are going to be huge—not simply lots of of megawatts, however gigawatts. What pressure does that place on the Northeast, on the PJM area? We’re not totally certain what the implications will likely be, so ensuring that we’re regrading the panorama to place nuclear on a stage footing with different types of electrical energy technology goes to be vital.
If we’re speaking in regards to the metal trade as effectively, there’s been a variety of discuss the way forward for electrical arc furnaces, and the growing function that recycled metal goes to play in our transportation infrastructure. With all of the infrastructure that was promised and is coming down the pike with the Infrastructure Funding and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Discount Act (IRA) and issues like that, there’s an incredible ceiling for brand spanking new potential. One other certainly one of Group Pennsylvania’s companions, Shell Polymers, has lately completed setting up a multibillion-dollar challenge in Beaver County. This facility attracts lots of of megawatts of electrical energy, has its personal technology capability on-site along with grid connections. To the extent that Pennsylvania needs to and desires to remain on the coronary heart of American industrial prowess, nuclear on-site and behind-the-fence technology goes to be a key a part of that.
POWER: Momentum for nuclear can also be being pushed largely by decarbonization. Pennsylvania, traditionally a significant coal producer and a considerable coal energy generator, has moved to realize net-zero greenhouse gasoline emissions by 2050 underneath its Local weather Motion Plan. It is usually working to scale back industrial emissions, for instance, underneath the RISE PA challenge. The place do you see nuclear innovation becoming into these targets?
Max Drickey: Heavy trade stays central to Pennsylvania’s economic system, and in consequence, how Pennsylvania embraces the vitality transition will rely largely on the way it embraces industrial decarbonization. The state Division of Environmental Safety has already recognized and is advertising and marketing 11 websites that hosted coal producing stations—a few of that are in a position to be repowered with new nuclear property. Pennsylvania policymakers are investigating utilizing state funds to make these websites and others like them extra enticing to new growth. Group Pennsylvania is studying from our mates on the DOE nationwide labs and within the nuclear trade about the advantages communities stand to realize from repowering these websites, and we’re watching very intently as different states pursue a coal-to-nuclear transition.
However as you say, there are different, non-power associated areas the place nuclear can have an effect. There is no such thing as a query that nuclear energy permits zero-carbon fuels like hydrogen—and Pennsylvania is poised to assist inform that story. Pennsylvania was the one state to be awarded two federally designated hydrogen hubs—if and when hydrogen manufacturing takes off all through the area, all through the nation, Pennsylvania nuclear completely stands to learn. The aim of the Group Pennsylvania vitality collaborative is to [identify synergies] between completely different vitality applied sciences, understanding the place they will complement one another.
POWER: How vital are public-private partnerships in advancing new nuclear in Pennsylvania?
Max Drickey: It’s extremely vital, particularly with regards to the promise of smaller-scale tasks. If we’re not speaking about massive reactors just like the gigawatt-scale reactors or constructing an AP1000 each three years, the significance of public-private partnerships is even higher. The coverage surroundings for nuclear has modified on the federal stage—as an example, the U.S. Congress handed and President Biden signed the ADVANCE Act to make clear the [Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) mandate and make the application review process more affordable for project developers . But there is still room for public-private work at the level of the state.
One of the things we’re investigating is whether there are opportunities for efficiency gains in these applications. We realize there’s a need for a statewide effort on site permitting. A public-private enterprise to pursue permits for several nuclear projects across multiple sites offers savings in dollar terms but also in time and human capital , savings that aren’t realized when project developers go it alone .
When we talk about this opportunity, it doesn’t have to be limited to the state of Pennsylvania. It can involve a consortium of environmental interests, industry, consumers, developers, and local communities. I believe the future of flexible nuclear technologies, whether it’s SMRs or microreactors, will require a village mentality to get the costs down.
POWER: How is Pennsylvania addressing the challenges of deploying nuclear power competitively within a deregulated energy market?
Max Drickey: So, as we discussed at the top, one of the realities of deploying nuclear in Pennsylvania is that if you’re going to try to sell it to a retail customer on the grid, it has to be competitive on a price-per-kilowatt basis with everything else out there. And so, one of the challenges—and I think this is true of a lot of places—is how can we stack efficiencies? How can we co-locate?
For example, we have at least 11 retired power plant sites that are ripe for repowering with nuclear assets. Is there any way we can co-locate generation with some other industrial process, like a data center? And, to be honest, there are developers looking at doing just that. Returning to the data center conversation, I think that’s the easiest place to touch on where we’ve had conversations or been in rooms where developers have said, “Our plan is to deploy a gigawatt scale of generation capacity with the option or space for permitting additional generation capacity, should future site owners need it.” When you think about that kind of scale, that’s pretty amazing.
Now, you want to talk about challenges, too. One of the things with advanced nuclear is there’s a bit of a skills gap. Workforce readiness is going to be a big part of making new nuclear a reality . We’re fortunate to work with Pittsburgh Technical, a nuclear consulting firm that is developing a curriculum for technicians to prepare them to work in some of these next-generation Gen IV reactors. We’d love to see that kind of curriculum deployed at Penn State, which has a nuclear engineering program.
But there are other lower-hanging fruits to consider, like welding certifications for folks in Washington and Greene counties so they can work in the construction of some of these assets. That’s important as well.
When it comes to public acceptance—and returning to a point we touched on earlier—I think we are on the cusp of a real sea change here. It’s not just about the promise of new technology; it’s also about what it means for communities. When you visit a nuclear facility and see the training facilities, you understand just how many people from the area work there, maybe not necessarily full-time, but it touches many different families. There aren’t many other industries these days where the same thing can be said.
POWER: There’s been some discussion about reviving Three Mile Island Unit 1, which was shuttered in 2019 for economic reasons. Would you discuss what’s changed, and why it would be relevant for Pennsylvania’s priorities?
Max Drickey: Well, I think what makes this interesting is that Three Mile Island (TMI) is a bit of a bellwether. It shows that when it comes to electricity and energy, we’re not just talking about price anymore. That’s not the end of the discussion. Carbon intensity is one factor, and reliability is another. Energy considerations go far beyond the residential consumer market.
There’s a growing understanding, not just in the industry but also among the public, that energy is a dominant driving force of our economic and social potential. The serious discussions currently taking place about the future of TMI Unit 1 show that nuclear skeptics, both outside and inside the industry, are being proven wrong. The old lessons and models are not indicative of where things are headed, either in the short term or the long term.
POWER: What role do legislators have to play in this, and how sharp is their intent?
Max Drickey: Just recently [in July 2024], the Pennsylvania Normal Meeting restarted its nuclear caucus, an initiative that had been principally dormant for the final couple of years. From Group Pennsylvania’s perspective, we’re eager about these vitality areas the place events can put aside ideological variations. We are able to carry environmental teams and vitality corporations collectively on the identical aspect of the desk. Nuclear vitality in Pennsylvania is clearly certainly one of these areas, together with hydrogen and carbon seize and administration, the place there’s a actual curiosity and willingness to be taught extra and refine methods.
I believe there have been some important revisions within the Governor’s proposals for the way forward for the choice vitality portfolio requirements. These revisions purpose to offer further advantages to zero-carbon electrical energy coming from nuclear, which I believe is a step in the best route. So, I believe Pennsylvania is rightly treating nuclear as one a part of a various vitality portfolio, however it’s additionally a element that has maybe been uncared for from a coverage perspective for a very long time. It’s time to revisit that.
POWER: Lastly, are there another main areas or establishments that our readers ought to take note of in Pennsylvania relating to nuclear growth?
Max Drickey: I believe one of many alternatives I’d like to say entails Penn State, a robust companion and whose president, Dr. Neeli Bendapudi, sits on Group Pennsylvania’s Board of Administrators . Penn State is pursuing a analysis reactor challenge along with Westinghouse, with the ambition to be the primary college to subject a microreactor. This demonstrates that it doesn’t essentially require an industrial superpower, like GE within the Nineteen Nineties, to be the primary to deploy such know-how.
I consider Pennsylvania would like to be on the forefront of deploying this know-how. Nonetheless, given the structural realities we’re coping with, our focus might not essentially be on being the primary. As an alternative, I consider we’re going to be the very best case for the deployment of this know-how with regards to unlocking its potential for trade, customers, and the downstream results for producers and the export potential for a few of our strategic companions worldwide.
I believe Pennsylvania is simply as vital a state to keep watch over as a number of the main states out west.
—Sonal Patel is a POWER senior editor (@sonalcpatel, @POWERmagazine).
