the role of nuclear in addressing climate change

Daniel Kammen

Energy and Resources Group (Chair)

Goldman School of Public Policy

Department of Nuclear Engineering

Director, Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory

University of California, Berkeley

Former Science Envoy, United States Department of State

Payne Institute: The Role of Nuclear in Addressing Climate Change, August 27, 2021

The Role of Nuclear in Addressing Climate Change

2

NDC Commitments

to the Paris Accords

Needed Innovations

Paris, 2015:

2 degree

objective

IPCC, 2018:

1.5 degree

objective

The Needed Decarbonization Race, > 3%/year

“Recalibrating climate prospects”

Lovins, Ürge-Vorsatz, Mundaca, Kammen & Glassman

Environ. Res. Lett. 14, 120201 (2019)

doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ab55ab

• Storage almost exclusively moves solar to the night

• Geothermal only remaining substantial baseload

SWITCH Model Results: A Decarbonized Grid

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193111821019311182101931118210171 918210171 91821018210171 918210171 918210171 9171 91821018210171 919311182101821019311WEC

CElectricityDispa

tchin2050(GW)

HourofDay(PST)

Nuclear Geothermal Biopower Coal

CoalCCS Gas(baseload) GasCCS Gas(intermediate)

Gas(peaker) Storage(discharging) Hydro(non-pumped) Solar

Wind Storage(charging) Demand

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

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http://rael.berkeley.edu

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Stock and Flow of Nuclear Power Plants

http://rael.berkeley.edu

The demography of discrimination

Now cheaper to build renewables than to operate fossil fuel power plants

Iron-Chromium Flow Battery + PV in the

California Energy / Storage Market

EnerVault Iron-Chromium Technology 1 MW-hr capacity at 250 kW (4 hour duration)Turlock, CA

8

2014: Storage capacity mandate (for 2020) launched, CA AB 2514

2020: CA meets 1.2 GW (2%) mandate

2021: Moss Landing storage facility will exceed entire 2020 mandate

California sets new clean energy records

Introduction: Net Zero Emissions Targets

Major industrial economies set the net zero emissions targets in the past two years.

11

Extra Slides

http://rael.berkeley.edu

Solve Climate by 2030: Can We?Energy economics say we can

California’s

market price for

carbon

emissions

$20/tCO2

http://rael.berkeley.edu

Solve Climate by 2030: Can We?Energy economics say we can

A Social Cost of

Carbon:

> $50/tCO2

http://rael.berkeley.edu

The social cost of carbon now in use in the USA

Introduction: Net Zero Emissions Targets