New Jersey extends $300 million in nuclear subsidies for Salem County reactors
by Andrew Maykuth, Posted: April 27, 2021 - 5:05 PM
New Jersey extends $300 million in nuclear subsidies for Salem County reactors
JOHN COSTELLO / FILE PHOTO
PSEG operates the Salem Nuclear Power Plant in South Jersey.
New Jersey on Tuesday renewed subsidies of about $300 million a year for the state’s three nuclear power reactors at Salem and Hope Creek, the source of 90% of the state’s carbon-free electricity.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved the subsidies, called Zero Emission Certificates, for three years for the Hope Creek Generating Station and the twin-unit Salem Nuclear Power Plant, located in Lower Alloways Township on Delaware Bay. The giant reactors supply New Jersey with about 37.5% of its power, including about 90% of its electricity produced without greenhouse gas emissions. //

The subsidies add about 0.4 cents to the price of a kilowatt hour of electricity, or about $2.60 a month for a typical residential customer that uses 650 kWh. That’s about 2% of a typical residential customer’s $123.44 monthly bill from Public Service Electric & Gas, the state’s largest utility and an affiliate of the majority owner of the nuclear plants. //

Several states, including Illinois, New York and Connecticut, have provided subsidies to keep nuclear plants operating, though Pennsylvania in 2019 declined to award support for atomic power, leading Exelon to permanently shut down Three Mile Island Unit 1.