How to manage flexible nuclear power plants in a deregulated electricity market from the point of view of social welfare?

Pascal Gourdel () and Maria Lykidi
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Pascal Gourdel: CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement

Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) from HAL

Abstract: Flexible nuclear power plants can adjust their electricity production to the predicted evolution of demand. Under certain conditions, flexible operation is necessary to ensure the stability of the electricity system. However, despite the potential advantages of nuclear energy including the flexibility of nuclear reactors, the social acceptance of nuclear has reduced after the Fukushima accident, leading some countries to reduce or even phase out nuclear (e.g. Germany). So, a question that arises is how flexible nuclear power plants have to be operated in order to maximize social welfare. The French nuclear fleet gives an illustration of flexible management while social acceptance of nuclear is questioned; this was reflected in the new French Energy Transition law. Theoretically and numerically, we found that the production behavior that maximizes social welfare is characterized by a constant thermal production and a totally flexible nuclear production given sufficient nuclear capacity. Energy

Keywords: Electric power; Nuclear unit; Flexible operation; Nuclear fuel reservoir; Thermal production; Social welfare (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-06-01
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Published in Energy, 2015, Issue C, Volume 85, p. 167-180 ⟨10.1016/j.energy.2015.03.032⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-01477134

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2015.03.032

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