Quantifying the Environmental Benefits of Nuclear Energy

One factor that has led many environmentalists to reconsider nuclear energy is the fact that it releases no CO2 into the environment. With fossil fuel prices rising, states being required to meet clean air standards and low production costs, nuclear energy has become a viable option.

Here are some numbers to think about:

There are 103 operating nuclear power plants in the United States. In 2004, they avoided approximately 697 million metric tons of CO2, 3.4 million tons of SO2 and 1.1 million tons of NOx (click here for the graph). Without nuclear power, emissions would be about 30 percent higher.

Here are some more numbers to think about:

Since 1973, 97 nuclear power plants which had been ordered were cancelled. 68 of those were cancelled after the Three Mile Island accident. If all the plants had been built, nuclear would avoid twice as much the emissions it does today.

According to the Kyoto Protocol, the U.S. would be required to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 7 percent from the 1990 emissions level over the commitment period of 2008-2012.

In 1990, total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States were 5,932 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents. 7 percent of this is only 415 million metric tons of CO2. If the additional nuclear plants were built, they would easily prevent more than the 7 percent reduction target.

However, in 2003, CO2 emissions were 17 percent higher than the 1990 emissions levels. This growth in emissions in the U.S. since 1990 would not be overcome by the additional 97 nuclear plants. We would not be at the Kyoto Protocol target, but we would be about half way there.

Here is one more item to consider:

Coal power plants contribute about 80 percent of total CO2 emissions. There are around 1,500 coal plants which provide 50 percent of the electricity in the U.S. Nuclear has only 103 plants which provide 20 percent of the electricity in the U.S. If nuclear had half as many plants as there are coal (about 750), nuclear would provide more than enough electricity for the entire U.S. and solve the emissions problem at the same time.

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