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Selected Publications

Bärenbold, Rebekka, Bah, Muhammad Maladoh, Lordan-Perret, Rebecca, Steigerwald, Björn, von Hirschhausen, Christian, Wealer, Ben, Weigt, Hannes, & Wimmers, Alexander. (2024). Decommissioning of commercial nuclear power plants: Insights from a multiple-case study. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2024.114621

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Darudi, Ali, & Weigt, Hannes. (2024). Review and Assessment of Decarbonized Future Electricity Markets. Energies, 17(18). https://doi.org/10.3390/en17184752

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Lordan-Perret, Rebecca, Bärenbold, Rebekka, Weigt, Hannes, & Rosner, Robert. (2023). An ex-ante method to verify commercial U.S. nuclear power plant decommissioning cost estimates [Journal-article]. Energy Economics, 127, 107023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2023.107023

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Selected Projects & Collaborations

Modellierung der angemessenen Erzeugungs- und Systemkapazität (System Adequacy) in der Schweiz im Bereich Strom

Research Project | 2 Project Members

This study, commissioned by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE), analyzes the future development of security of supply in the electricity sector in Switzerland. Following on from the System Adequacy (SA) studies of 2017 and 2019, a three-stage model chain is used to investigate the long-term adequacy of generation and network capacity in Switzerland and Europe up to 2040. The current SA study sets a focus on the role of import capacity for the Swiss supply situation - especially during the winter - as well as medium- to long-term developments of different renewable energy pathways.

The Future Swiss Electricity Market: Evolution or Revolution?

Research Project | 2 Project Members

The future Swiss electricity system needs to support the development to carbon-neutrality while providing secure and affordable electricity. The required coordination could be best achieved by a well-designed market. This project aims to address this challenge by developing a structure for market design evaluations and apply it to two distinguished pathways: an evolutionary one, i.e. adjustments of the existing electricity market framework, and a revolutionary one, based on a significant reconfiguration of the current design. Building upon a problem mapping and structuring, a schematic Swiss electricity-system model will be developed to compare the evolutionary and revolutionary design options with regard to their efficiency and viability to cope with the expected challenges for the Swiss electricity system. We will provide insights how and to what extent a sequence of small adjustments or a major overhaul of the electricity market design could be used to derive the future Swiss electricity system.

Best Practices for Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Plants: How to ensure efficient plant decommissioning under different regulatory schemes

Research Project | 2 Project Members

When nuclear power plants were built, focus was placed on constructing, licensing, and operating instead of on decommissioning. Rather, decommissioning was seen as a distant problem that was discounted away. This failure to plan properly has led to poor outcomes for the few decommissioning cases already conducted. Nevertheless, hundreds of plants around the world must be decommissioned in the coming decades, many without adequate planning, experience, capacity, or funding. Globally, the decommissioning market has an estimated value of $1,000 billion USD through 2050. This is the context for the project. We aim to identify the best practices to achieve a timely, safe, and cost-efficient decommissioning of nuclear power plants globally. First, a timely decommissioning is crucial as the decommissioning process spans several decades and extensive delay would overburden future generations with financial, technical, and safety challenges. Second, a safe decommissioning process reduces safety risks to human health and the environment should nuclear material be released or an accident occur. Finally, a cost-efficient process will help reduce the high cost uncertainties, potential fund inadequacies, and avoid forcing taxpayers to assume the financial responsibility in case of bankruptcies.