Nuclear plants in New York and Illinois were facing early closure in the face of deteriorating economics, but each state implemented a zero-emission credit program to ensure that the value of generation without air emissions would be factored into decisions about the future of the plant. These credits are payments that electricity generators receive to compensate them for the valuable attribute of not emitting greenhouse gases in the production of electricity.
This paper discusses the key features of a zero-emission credit program and identifies some of the differences between the programs in New York and Illinois.