Brattle Economists Evaluate Impacts of the Salem and Hope Creek Nuclear Power Plants on New Jersey’s Economy
Prepared for Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG)
In a new study for Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), Brattle Principals Mark Berkman and Dean Murphy estimate the economic impacts of New Jersey’s Salem and Hope Creek nuclear plants. Their analysis reveals that the nuclear plants make a considerable contribution to New Jersey’s economy, boosting GDP and jobs in the state.
Similar to Brattle’s 2017 study on the contributions of Salem and Hope Creek to the state’s economy, the analysis here accounts for the direct effects of the plants, and their indirect and induced effects through other economic sectors, measuring associated changes to gross domestic product (GDP) and employment using a well-known macroeconomic model at the state and county level. These changes are quantified by comparing the state and local economies with vs. without the nuclear plants.
The Brattle analysis determined that over the period 2021 through 2030, the Salem and Hope Creek nuclear plants:
- Contribute approximately $1.2 billion annually to the New Jersey state GDP on net, including $1.2 billion in Salem County, $57 million in surrounding counties, and a loss of $38 million in the rest of the state. Contribute another $171 million GDP in Delaware’s New Castle County.
- Account for 4,530 in-state jobs (direct and secondary) including 3,990 jobs in Salem County, 490 jobs in surrounding counties, and 1,670 jobs in Delaware.
- Pay $54 million annually in New Jersey state taxes and $9 million annually in Delaware state taxes.
