If nuclear power were not used, 131 million of the nation’s 137 million passenger cars or 96% would have to be eliminated to keep U.S. CO2 emissions from increasing.
Why Nuclear—Environmental Avoiding Emissions
In 1990, laws were enacted to regulate emissions such as nitrogen oxide (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Today, there is growing focus on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and their contribution to climate change. Because nuclear power plants do not burn anything to generate electricity, they do not produce emissions such as SO2, NOx or CO2 and therefore help reduce the negative impact on the environment including climate change.
In 2006, U.S. nuclear power plants avoided the same amount of emissions of nitrogen oxides as produced by more than 51 million passenger cars. Likewise, new nuclear generating capacity and increased production at existing nuclear plants prevent greenhouse gases and air pollutants that would otherwise come from fossil fuel plants.
Numerous studies demonstrate that nuclear energy’s lifecycle emissions (including construction and fuel acquisition and processing) are comparable to renewable forms of generation, such as wind and hydropower, and far less than those of coal- or natural gas-fueled power plants.*
*Life-cycle Assessment of Electricty Generation Systems and Applications for
Climate Change Policy Analysis. Paul J. Meier, Fusion Technology Institute,
University of Wisconsin. August 2002.
