fact sheet
COLORADO AND NUCLEAR ENERGY
Key Facts
•
U.S. nuclear power facili es generate 19 percent of our
electricity while emi ng no greenhouse gases
•
Nuclear energy is America’s most reliable source, producing
electricity around the clock
•
America’s nuclear facili es employ more than 100,000
highly skilled workers at salaries well above local averages.
Reliable, Clean and Safe Nuclear Energy
Nuclear energy produces electricity for one in five homes
and businesses across the United States, with 99 reactors in
30 states. It produces almost two-thirds of all emission-free
electricity. That makes it a good future energy choice for
Colorado, which is par ally dependent on fossil fuels for
genera ng electricity.
Nuclear power plants are also America’s most reliable source
of electricity, producing power over 91 percent of the me
over the past three years. Hence nuclear energy is vital part of
a diverse genera ng mix that keeps electricity prices and grids
stable and ensures that consumers are not overly reliant on just
one or two sources of electricity.
Jobs and Economic Benefits
•
Four reactors are under construc on in two states:
Georgia (Vogtle 3 and 4) and South Carolina (V.C. Summer
2 and 3), using advanced reactor technology that is the
safest in the energy sector.
•
Nuclear energy facili es typically employ up to 3,500
people during construc on and 400 to 700 people during
opera on, at salaries 36 percent higher than average in the
local area.
•
Each nuclear energy facility pays approximately $40 million
a year in wages and generates $470 million annually in sales
of goods and services in the local community
Sources of Electricity in Colorado
15.1%
Renewables
2.3%
Hydro
22.5%
Natural
Gas
60.1%
Coal
Source: ABB Velocity Suite
/ Energy Informa on
Administra on
con nued —
Comparison of Life-Cycle Emissions
Managing Used Nuclear Fuel
Tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent per Gigawa -Hour
•
Each nuclear energy facility stores used fuel safely and
securely onsite, awai ng consolidated storage and
disposal by DOE. As of 2015, Colorado has contributed
approximately $200,000 to the federal Nuclear Waste Fund.
•
All the used nuclear fuel produced by the nuclear energy
industry over 50 years—if stacked end to end—would cover
an area the size of a football field to a depth of less than
10 yards.
979
Coal
462
Gas
253
Biomass
Solar PV
Geothermal
53
42
Hydro
26
Nuclear
13
Onshore Wind
12
Source: Annex III: Technology-specific cost and performance parameters. In: Climate
Change 2014: Mi ga on of Climate Change. Contribu on of Working Group III to the Fi h
Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Edenhofer, O., et.al,
Cambridge University Press, 2014. The numbers shown are the median of studies examined
by the IPCC in grams CO2e per kWh and are converted to tons CO2e per GWh.
Nuclear Is Clean Air Energy
•
The use of nuclear energy in 2015 prevented the emission
of 564 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. This equals
the amount released in a year by 128 million passenger
cars.
•
Nuclear energy is the only clean-air electricity source that
can produce large amounts of electricity around the clock.
•
Numerous studies demonstrate that nuclear energy’s
life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions are comparable to
renewable energy, such as wind and hydropower, and far
less than coal or natural gas-fueled power plants.
•
The na on’s nuclear energy facili es also prevented
the emission of 674,000 short tons of sulfur dioxide and
402,000 short tons of nitrogen oxide in 2015.
Emissions Prevented
Quantity Prevented in 2015
Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
Nitrogen oxide (NOx)
673,938 short tons
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
563.8 million metric tons
Used fuel at nuclear energy facili es is cooled in secure steel-lined
concrete pools filled with water
401,638 short tons
Commi ed to Safety
•
America’s nuclear energy facili es are among the safest
and most secure industrial facili es.
•
The independent U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
regulates and monitors plant performance in three areas:
reactor safety, radia on safety and security.
•
A er more than a half-century of commercial nuclear
energy produc on in the United States and more than
4,000 reactor years of opera on, there have been no
radia on-related health effects linked to the opera on of
nuclear energy facili es.
A er the cooling period, nuclear energy facili es store used fuel safely
on site in steel and concrete vaults.
Source: Gutherman Technical Services, 2015
nei.org