Again, On Nuclear Energy and the Southern Drought

Here's a letter to the editor that NEI has been sending around the country in response to last week's AP wire on nuclear power plants and the drought in the American South:

Contrary to the impression given in the Associated Press article, "Drought could close Southern nuclear plants," (Jan. 24), all steam-based power plants (coal, nuclear, natural gas) potentially can have their operations affected by drought conditions.

The extent to which readers received a skewed account of the facts is most evident from the article's first sentence, which begins, "Nuclear reactors across the Southeast could be forced to throttle back." In reality, the percentage of electricity produced by coal-fired power plants exceeds the percentage of electricity produced by nuclear power plants in the following Southeast states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

Although the Southeast is suffering from drought conditions, the reality is water levels have not significantly impacted the ability of nuclear plants to operate as the most efficient and reliable power plants on the electric grid today. To the contrary, they were instrumental in meeting record electricity demand during the sweltering two-week heat wave last August.

By focusing only on nuclear plants and ignoring this broader context relevant to all steam-cycle power plants, the article rates as a journalistic "F."

Scott Peterson
Vice President
Nuclear Energy Institute