The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is working to finalize rules for its Clean Power Plan, governing new and existing sources under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act. EPA plans to set standards, regulations, and guidelines to address carbon pollution from power plants. Although U.S. nuclear power plants provide 63% of U.S. zero-carbon generation with high reliability, the nuclear industry has expressed significant concerns that the EPA’s proposed rulemaking does not sufficiently incentivize maintenance of the existing fleet or construction of new nuclear plants. The nuclear industry further alleges that the Clean Power Plan perpetuates the status quo, in which renewables subsidies at both the federal and state level threaten the economic competitiveness of existing nuclear generation in the U.S.
