The End of the Nuclear Era: Nuclear Decommissioning and Its Economic Impacts on U.S. Counties

Abstract

Between 1957 and 1990, nearly 100 nuclear reactors were constructed throughout the U.S., and nuclear power currently accounts for 20 percent of electricity production nationwide. Nuclear plants are often constructed in small communities for which they constitute a large source of employment and income. To date, 24 nuclear reactors have undergone decommissioning, and more are expected in the future, particularly as nuclear reactors age and face increasingly strict regulations. This paper examines the effects of nuclear decommissioning over time at the county‐level on measures of employment, income, and population using difference‐in‐differences regression and propensity score matching. Panel data are obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau, and cover the years 1975–2014. The analysis finds that nuclear decommissioning is associated with positive and statistically significant increases in employment and per capita income over time. Results suggest that nuclear decommissioning may actually be a positive force in regional economic development, and concludes with limitations of the approach and implications for future research. As an emerging area of research, this paper is meant to build on previous work, as well as to provide a basis for further discussion and debate on the economic future of nuclear host communities and regional economies.

Prospects for growth and prosperity in West Cumbria: Nuclear decommissioning and regional economic adjustment

“…There is a mountain of literature on these and other types of industrial regions, but little has been written about the developmental impacts of nuclear decommissioning. Among the few and largely atheoretical attempts to deal with this problem are studies by Haller et al (2017), IAEA (2011), and OECD (2022).…”

Structural Changes to Nuclear Energy Industries and the Economic Effects Resulting from Energy Transition Policies in South Korea

“…It pointed out that nuclear facilities are generally located in remote areas, where they often are the main source of income of the local community. Thus, the socioeconomic effects of decommissioning of nuclear power plants can be significant [3,25,26]. In addition to the economic impacts, the IAEA [25] pointed out that decommissioning could induce demographic changes, such as the emigration of young persons to seek work elsewhere, which could affect the level of local services like transportation.…”

“…Haller, Haines and Yamamoto [26] investigated the impact of decommissioning on population growth, per capita income, and employment at the county level in the United States by conducting panel data analysis. Contrary to their a priori expectations and the findings of other studies, they found a positive impact of nuclear decommissioning on employment and income during and even after decommissioning, using empirical data from 1975 to 2014.…”