A study last year by Princeton University called for doubling the world’s nuclear power capacity as a means of offsetting the growth of greenhouse gas emissions. That is an excellent and worthy objective, and I believe we should set a goal of doubling America’s nuclear power capacity by 2030.
However, as we well know, no new nuclear plants have been built in the United States since the 1970s. This is both astonishing and alarming, given the unique benefits that nuclear energy offers – benefits no other major energy source available today can provide.
Foremost is the fact that nuclear power emits none of the pollutants associated with the burning of fossil fuels. Indeed, nuclear plants in the eastern part of the United States have made it possible for many states to meet the requirements of the federal Clean Air Act. Since the mid-1970s, nuclear energy has enabled the United States to avoid emitting more than 80 million tons of sulfur dioxide and about 40 million tons of nitrogen oxides.
Also important is nuclear power’s ability to supply electricity with no greenhouse gas emissions. The nuclear plants operating around the world today displace about 2.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide every year that would have been emitted using conventional coal-fired generation. That’s an extremely significant number when you consider that coal-fired power generation around the world currently emits 5.8 billion tons of CO2 per year. Can any major lasting reduction in GHG emissions be achieved without nuclear playing a big role? I seriously doubt it.
NEI has a call out to USEA for an online source for the speech, and we've asked for permission to post it here at NEI Nuclear Notes as well.
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