[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 244 (Friday, December 18, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 82528-82529]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27928]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[NRC-2020-0266]
Replacement Energy Cost Estimates for Nuclear Power Plants: 2020-
2030
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Draft NUREG; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for
public comment draft NUREG-2242, ``Replacement Energy Cost Estimates
for Nuclear Power Plants: 2020-2030.'' This guidance updates previous
estimates of replacement energy costs for potential shutdowns of U.S.
nuclear electricity-generating units.
DATES: Submit comments by February 16, 2021. Comments received after
this date will be considered if it is practical to do so, but the NRC
is able to ensure consideration only for comments received before this
date.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0266. Address
questions about NRC dockets to Dawn Forder; telephone: 301-415-3407;
email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact the
individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of
this document.
Mail comments to: Office of Administration, Mail Stop:
TWFN-7-A60M, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-
0001, ATTN: Program Management, Announcements and Editing Staff.
For additional direction on obtaining information and submitting
comments, see ``Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments'' in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pamela Noto, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6795, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining Information and Submitting Comments
A. Obtaining Information
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0266 when contacting the NRC
about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain
publicly available information related to this action by any of the
following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0266.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS
Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or
by email to [email protected]. The draft NUREG, ``Replacement Energy
Cost Estimates for Nuclear Power Plants: 2020-2030,'' is available in
ADAMS under Accession No. ML20342A132.
Attention: The Public Document Room (PDR), where you may
examine and order copies of public documents is currently closed. You
may submit your request to the PDR via email at [email protected] or
call 1-800-397-4209 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (EST), Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
B. Submitting Comments
Please include Docket ID NRC-2020-0266 in your comment submission.
The NRC cautions you not to include identifying or contact
information that you do not want to be publicly disclosed in your
comment submission. The NRC will post all comment submissions at
https://www.regulations.gov as well as enter the comment submissions
into ADAMS. The NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove identifying or contact information.
If you are requesting or aggregating comments from other persons
for submission to the NRC, then you should inform those persons not to
include identifying or contact information that they do not want to be
publicly disclosed in their comment submission. Your request should
state that the NRC does not routinely edit comment submissions to
remove such information before making the comment submissions available
to the public or entering the comment into ADAMS.
[[Page 82529]]
II. Discussion
The NRC is developing new guidance to update replacement energy
cost estimates for both short- and long-term nuclear power plant
outages. The new guidance document, NUREG-2242, ``Replacement Energy
Cost Estimates for Nuclear Power Plants: 2020-2030,'' when finalized,
updates and replaces the information contained within NUREG/CR-4012,
Volume 4, ``Replacement Energy Costs for Nuclear Electricity-Generating
Units in the United States: 1997-2001,'' and NUREG/CR-6080,
``Replacement Energy, Capacity, and Reliability Costs for Permanent
Nuclear Reactor Shutdowns'' (ADAMS Accession Nos. ML20073J435 and
ML20076F500, respectively).
Replacement energy costs are estimated for the U.S. electricity
wholesale market regions with nuclear electricity-generating units over
the 2020-2030 study period. These estimates were developed to assist
the NRC in evaluating proposed regulatory actions that (1) require
safety modifications that might necessitate temporary reactor outages
and (2) reduce the potential for extended outages resulting from a
severe reactor accident. Estimates were calculated using ASEA Brown
Boveri's PROMOD model and ICF's Integrated Planning Model for North
America. The model simulates dispatching a collection of generating
units in merit order (i.e., lowest to highest incremental cost of
dispatch) until the regional power demand is met. Each generating unit
is characterized by the technology and fuel it uses to generate
electricity, the unit's heat rate, and the variable and fixed costs
incurred in owning and operating the unit. To estimate the replacement
energy cost, the study models a Reference Case, in which all
operational nuclear power plants are generating, and an Alternative
Case, in which a nuclear generating unit is taken offline so that the
next unit in merit order is dispatched to replace the lost generation.
The difference in market clearing prices between the two cases is the
replacement energy cost.
The resulting wholesale power price projections capture the
dynamics and economics of the U.S. electricity markets, which provide
short- and long-term replacement energy cost estimates on a market area
basis. Factors that affect replacement energy costs, such as load
growth, replacement sources of generation, fuel prices, air emission
requirement outlooks, and seasonal variations were treated in the
analysis.
On November 18, 2020, the NRC held a Category 3 public meeting
(ADAMS Accession No. ML20336A181) to discuss the updated replacement
energy cost estimates. The NRC appreciates feedback received from the
November 18, 2020 public meeting and will consider comments received
during the public comment period when developing the final NUREG-2242.
After Commission approval and publication of the final NUREG-2242, the
NRC plans to develop an appendix to NUREG/BR-0058, Revision 5,
``Regulatory Analysis Guidelines of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission,'' (ADAMS Accession No. ML19261A278) to provide guidance for
applying the replacement energy cost estimates.
Dated: December 15, 2020.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John R. Tappert,
Director, Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support,
Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2020-27928 Filed 12-17-20; 8:45 am]
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