Nuclear Energy and the Environment

Many electricity consumers would like to believe that the solution to providing clean electrical energy is to simply add scrubbers to the stacks of fossil-fired plants and ultimately replace these plants with renewable sources of electricity (e.g. wind and solar). The vast scope of the capacity of the fossil-fueled plants that supply more than 60 percent of the U.S. electricity output and current renewable energy sources that supply less than 5 percent of the U.S. electricity output speaks for the need to establish a more practical solution. Nuclear power will be at the core of this transformation

Nuclear Energy is the Solution

Nuclear Energy sources are clearly part of a comprehensive approach to meeting our nation’s energy needs. Nuclear power is one of the most effective means for achieving significant reductions in air pollutants and greenhouse gases.  Over 780 billion kWh of energy output are produced by the 103 nuclear power plants that populate 31 states in the U.S and it produces no appreciable greenhouse gases. The industry is continuing to improve its existing plants and has increased the power provided by these units over a 5-year period at a rate commensurate with avoiding adding 13 new 1,000 MW fossil units and the air pollutants and greenhouse gases they would emit into earth’s atmosphere. Clearly there are limits to the ability to improve the existing fleet and new nuclear capacity will be part of the solution.

Notwithstanding the mere differences in scalability between nuclear energy and the alternatives provided by renewable resources, nuclear power offers major operational advantages:

• Renewable generation sources typically operate 30 percent of the time when required. This intermittent response capability requires that back-up measures (normally fossil generation) be established, thus increasing their overall cost.
• The average capacity factor for nuclear power plant is approximately 91 percent, much higher than all other type of generation. Considering its role in reducing emissions, there is no escaping the role nuclear power should play in reducing energy-related environmental emissions.
• Many of the nation’s nuclear plant sites have the ability to add additional capacity and thereby connect new capacity to the electric grid with minimal transmission investment when compared to renewable sources.

Radioactive nuclear waste remains a challenge to nuclear energy being perceived as part of the environmental management solution (current alternatives face significant political as compared to technical hurdles). But, as it relates to clean air and climate change, the physical and financial leverage provided by nuclear power is significant.

Click here for an introduction to nuclear power.