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Effectiveness and robustness of the market design of low carbon electricity markets: the case of investm


Thesis topic details

General information

Organisation

The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) is a key player in research, development and innovation in four main areas :
• defence and security,
• nuclear energy (fission and fusion),
• technological research for industry,
• fundamental research in the physical sciences and life sciences.

Drawing on its widely acknowledged expertise, and thanks to its 16000 technicians, engineers, researchers and staff, the CEA actively participates in collaborative projects with a large number of academic and industrial partners.

The CEA is established in ten centers spread throughout France
  

Reference

SL-DES-25-0930  

Thesis topic details

Category

Miscellaneous

Thesis topics

Effectiveness and robustness of the market design of low carbon electricity markets: the case of investment in new nuclear

Contract

Thèse

Job description

The subject deals with the role of nuclear power in a low-carbon energy system, helping to lower the costs of the electricity system in the face of the penetration of timed renewable energies (wind, solar). Despite its systemic benefits, nuclear power is struggling to generate sufficient revenues in today's electricity markets, due to price volatility and declining load factors. Models show that very high prices during periods of load shedding could compensate for these losses, but such hypotheses remain to be proven. What's more, any construction contingencies (delays, extra costs) accentuate the risks for investors. To deal with this, suitable economic instruments are proposed: contracts for difference (CfD), capacity mechanisms, and regulated asset bases (RAB). The thesis aims to assess the effectiveness of these instruments through several steps: (1) long-term modeling of a low-carbon interconnected power system, (2) evaluation of the profitability of nuclear power in an “Energy only” market, and (3) modeling integrating these regulatory mechanisms to test their ability to cover construction and operating risks. Finally, tools such as real options or futures markets will be explored to address the uncertainties associated with the mass deployment of new nuclear reactors, from a national energy policy perspective.

University / doctoral school

Sciences de la Décision, des Organisations, de la Société et de l’Echange (SDOSE)
Paris-Dauphine

Thesis topic location

Site

Saclay

Requester

Position start date

01/10/2025

Person to be contacted by the applicant

CANEL Jérôme jerome.canel@cea.fr
CEA
DES/I-tésé
CEA-Saclay
07-80-58-96-84

Tutor / Responsible thesis director

KEPPLER Jan-Horst jan-horst.keppler@dauphine.psl.eu
UMR 8007-260, LEDa, Université Paris Dauphine
LEDa (UMR 8007-260)
Université Paris-Dauphine
Place du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny
75775 Paris cedex 16
01 44 05 45 13

En savoir plus


https://www.cea.fr/energies/i-tese/Pages/accueil.aspx