Nuclear operations with a high penetration of renewables: the case of France

Nicolas Astier () and Frank Wolak ()
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Nicolas Astier: 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 - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - 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 - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris
Frank Wolak: Stanford University

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Abstract: Nuclear and intermittent renewables (wind and solar) are generally regarded as the only scalable technologies producing low-carbon electricity. However, the extent to which these technologies can co-exist in a reliable power system depends on whether nuclear units can adjust their operations to renewable output fluctuations. Using hourly data from the French power system, we find that nuclear units are operated quite flexibly, and that the foregone energy production due to "load following" actions (relative to the counterfactual of operating at full capacity during load following events) is currently limited. However, we find that an additional load following event is associated with a slightly higher likelihood of a unit failure. We also find that unit-level minimum output constraints are binding more frequently as system-wide renewable generation increases, especially so for units most exposed to solar generation. In 2024, hours during which available nuclear flexibility was exhausted are associated with non-positive hourly day-ahead prices.

Keywords: Nuclear energy; Renewables; Operating constraints; Electricity prices (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-01
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-05477368v1
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