Climate and clean energy advocates in New Hampshire say a pending proposal to define nuclear power as clean energy could undercut solar and wind power in the state.
Although the details are still in the works, state Rep. Michael Vose, chair of the legislature’s science, technology and energy committee, is drafting a bill that would allow nuclear power generators, such as New Hampshire’s Seabrook Station, to receive payments for contributing clean energy to the grid.
"The broad idea is that, long-term, we can hope and expect that that reliable source of baseload power will always be there," Vose said. "It won’t be driven out of business by subsidized renewable power."
Some environmental advocates, however, worry that the proposal would provide unnecessary subsidies to nuclear power while making it harder for solar projects to attract investors.
"It’s just another way to reduce support for solar," said Meredith Hatfield, associate director for policy and government relations at the Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire.
Renewables and reliability
New Hampshire’s renewable portfolio standard — a binding requirement that specifies how much renewable power utilities must purchase — went into effect in 2008. To satisfy the requirement in that first year, utilities had to buy renewable energy certificates representing 4 percent of the total megawatt-hours they supplied that year. The number has steadily climbed, hitting 23.4 percent this year.
New Hampshire was the second-to-last state in the region to create a binding standard — Vermont switched from a voluntary standard to a mandated one until 2015. New Hampshire’s standard tops out at 25.2 percent renewable energy in 2025, but the other New England states range from 35 percent to 100 percent and look further into the future.
Until we can have affordable, scalable battery storage, the intermittency of renewables is going to guarantee that renewables are unreliable.
Vose, however, worries that even New Hampshire’s comparatively modest targets could put the reliability of the power supply at risk.
"Until we can have affordable, scalable battery storage, the intermittency of renewables is going to guarantee that renewables are unreliable," Vose said. "And if we add too many renewables to our grid, it makes the whole grid unreliable."
That idea has been widely debunked. Grid experts say variable renewables may require different planning and system design but are not inherently less reliable than fossil fuel generation.
The details of Vose’s clean energy standard bill have not yet been finalized. A clean energy standard is broadly different from a renewable energy standard in that it includes nuclear power, which does not emit carbon dioxide, but which uses a nonrenewable fuel source. Those writing the legislation, however, will have to decide whether it will propose incorporating the new standard into the existing renewable portfolio standard or operating the two systems alongside each other.
Clean energy advocates say they are not necessarily opposed to a clean energy standard, but argue it is crucial that such a program not pit nuclear power and renewable energy against each other for the same pool of money. And they are concerned that that’s just what Vose’s bill will do.
"While we would welcome a robust conversation about how to design a clean
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