Nuclear Plants Increase Reliability
Have you noticed that the lead energy source in the effort to halt climate change is not natural gas, but rather nuclear power? That’s the case not just in America but also in much of the rest of the world. It’s one of the most positive environmental developments around.
Nuclear power accounts for about 20 percent of U.S. electricity production but more than 70 percent of the nation’s carbon-free power. Though natural gas has 60 percent less carbon than coal, and is highly regarded as a clean-energy source for fuel switching, the fact is that natural gas power plants load the atmosphere with huge amounts of carbon dioxide. Nuclear power plants, by contrast, don’t pollute the air or emit any carbon dioxide.
Nuclear power’s environmental edge over competing energy sources is the key to understanding its continuing importance in the United States and in the world. Although there hasn’t been a groundbreaking for a new U.S. nuclear plant since 1974, nuclear power still has the same share of the nation’s total electricity production that it had more than 20 years ago. And it managed to hold on even as the demand for electricity continued to grow.
What made this remarkable achievement possible are two things:
The greatly improved performance of nuclear plants is reflected by the jump in the average capacity factor of U.S. reactors from 60 percent in 1980 to 90 percent over the past decade.
Florida’s five reactors – Crystal River, and the twin units at both St. Lucie and Turkey Point – over the past three years have generated electricity about 90 percent of the time, avoiding the emission of 19 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2009 alone.
This performance has been accompanied by an excellent safety record for the entire fleet of 104 U.S. nuclear plants.
An increase in the capacity of most nuclear plants to produce power. Known as power uprates, they are one of the most effective ways to provide additional electricity at reasonable cost while meeting environmental goals They have boosted the nation’s generating capacity by 5,200 megawatts – which is equal to building five new nuclear plants. All five Florida reactors have had power uprates, ranging from 0.9 percent to 5.5 percent.
But improved plant performance and power uprates, though important, won’t be enough to meet the increased demand for clean energy. The Energy Information Administration projects that demand will grow 28 percent by 2035. That’s going to require building new nuclear plants in Florida and around the United States.
[ Lynn E. Weaver is president emeritus of the Florida Institute of Technology. ]
