Affordable & Reliable
An Energy Source for Today and Tomorrow
Now more than ever, the future of energy security in America depends on the country’s ability to take ownership of its energy production domestically. With the demand for electricity in the country projected to grow by about 25 percent by 2035, it is imperative that the United States invests in a cost-effective and environmentally clean source of electricity that can be used long-term. No other energy source is prepared to meet the nation’s increasing energy needs on the same scale today.
Nuclear Energy is Affordable:
- Electricity produced at nuclear energy facilities costs less per kilowatt-hour than all major sources of electricity. The average production cost of 2.14 cents per kilowatt-hour includes the costs of operating and maintaining the facility, purchasing fuel and paying for the management of spent fuel. In fact, nuclear facilities are the lowest-cost producer of baseload electricity.
- Nuclear energy facilities are able to produce electricity with low cost and stable prices because they use an enriched form of uranium for fuel. One uranium fuel pellet – the size of the tip of your little finger – produces the same energy as 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas, 1,780 pounds of coal or 149 gallons of oil.
- Because nuclear energy is not subject to unpredictable cost fluctuations or dependence on foreign suppliers, it is continuously affordable, making it one of the most efficient energy sources in the U.S. and throughout the world.
Nuclear Energy is Reliable:
- Operating 24/7, nuclear energy provides baseload, on-demand electricity to more than 20 percent of American homes and businesses because the facilities are designed to operate for extended periods of time and aren’t subject to environmental factors. Over the past two decades, the efficiency of U.S. nuclear energy facilities has increased from 56 percent in 1980 to 66 percent in 1990 and to 91 percent in 2010.
- Nuclear energy facilities can run about 540 days before they are shut down for a short period of time for refueling.
- Nuclear energy is also not subject to unreliable weather or climate conditions.
- By enhancing the efficiency of their nuclear-generation facilities, electricity companies are saving their customers billions of dollars and eliminating millions of tons of greenhouse gases. Likewise, utilities are working to achieve these benefits by upgrading their equipment at nuclear energy facilities. These projects will also create thousands of jobs for U.S. workers.
