REDIRECTING FEDERAL FUNDS TOWARD COAL AND NUCLEAR PLANT COMMUNITIES

The research note analyzes a U.S. Department of Energy proposal to subsidize uneconomic power plants to maintain grid reliability. It estimates that keeping six FirstEnergy coal and nuclear plants online for two years would cost approximately $2 billion. The author contends that these funds would be better spent on locally-led economic diversification and workforce development, noting that grid operators and reliability bodies do not believe such interventions are necessary for stability. The document suggests that redirecting these funds could provide over $300 million per affected community to support a just transition.

• Maintaining six market-exposed FirstEnergy coal and nuclear power plants for two years would require approximately $2 billion in federal subsidies, based on an estimated cost of $1 billion per year.
• Both the regional grid operator (PJM) and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) indicate that federal intervention to support these plants is not required for grid reliability, and that customers in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio would not experience service disruptions if the plants closed.
• Redirecting the $2 billion in proposed subsidies toward the six affected communities would provide more than $300 million per community to support workforce development and economic diversification.
• In Ohio, transitioning to a clean energy economy is estimated to potentially create over 20,000 new jobs and generate more than $25 billion in new investment.

APA

Aggarwal, S. (2018). REDIRECTING FEDERAL FUNDS TOWARD COAL AND NUCLEAR PLANT COMMUNITIES. Energy Innovation. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/FirstEnergy-communities-research-note_FINAL_8.17.18.pdf

Chicago

Aggarwal, Sonia. REDIRECTING FEDERAL FUNDS TOWARD COAL AND NUCLEAR PLANT COMMUNITIES. Energy Innovation, 2018. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/FirstEnergy-communities-research-note_FINAL_8.17.18.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Aggarwal |first1=Sonia |title=REDIRECTING FEDERAL FUNDS TOWARD COAL AND NUCLEAR PLANT COMMUNITIES |publisher=Energy Innovation |date=August 2018 |url=https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/FirstEnergy-communities-research-note_FINAL_8.17.18.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{aggarwal2018redirecting, author = {Aggarwal, Sonia}, title = {{REDIRECTING FEDERAL FUNDS TOWARD COAL AND NUCLEAR PLANT COMMUNITIES}}, institution = {Energy Innovation}, year = {2018}, month = aug, url = {https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/FirstEnergy-communities-research-note_FINAL_8.17.18.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }