[20210326]LSB10585_“保持核武器”？：对老化核电厂国家补贴的法律质疑及相关FERC行动.pdf

CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i “Staying Nuclear”?: Legal Challenges to State Subsidies for Aging Nuclear Power Plants and Related FERC Actions March 26, 2021 Nuclear power plants can produce large amounts of electricity with relatively low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, potentially assisting the United States in reducing such emissions. But the U.S. nuclear power industry faces a number of challenges, including high operating and maintenance costs; aging plants; competition from natural gas and renewable energy sources; and lawsuits from labor and environmental groups, among others. According to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 21 nuclear power reactors are currently undergoing decommissioning in the United States; two reactors are currently under construction. The federal government provides some financial support to the nuclear energy industry in the form of tax credits and other measures. But states have also increasingly sought to subsidize nuclear power plants that operate within their jurisdictions to preserve existing nuclear generation capacity and the jobs and tax base they provide to local communitie