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January 2008

Key Facts¹

• Operation of a U.S. nuclear plant generates 400 to 700 permanent jobs. These jobs pay 36 percent more than average salaries in the local area.
• The 400 to 700 permanent jobs at a nuclear plant create an equivalent number of additional jobs in the local area to provide the goods and services necessary to support the nuclear plant work force (e.g., grocery stores, dry cleaners, car dealers, etc.).
• Building a new nuclear plant would result in the creation of 1,400 to 1,800 jobs during construction, on average (with peak employment as high as 2,400 jobs at certain times).

• Each year, the average nuclear plant generates approximately $430 million in sales of goods and services (economic output) in the local community and nearly $40 million in total labor income. These figures include both direct and secondary effects. The direct effects reflect the plant’s expenditures for goods, services and labor. The secondary effects include subsequent spending attributable to the presence of the plant and its employees, as plant expenditures filter through the local economy (such as restaurants and shops buying goods and hiring employees).
• Analysis shows that every dollar spent by the average nuclear plant results in the creation of $1.07 in the local community.
• The average nuclear plant generates total state and local tax revenue of almost $20 million each year.
• These tax dollars benefit schools, roads, and other state and local infrastructure.
• The average nuclear plant generates federal tax payments of roughly $75 million each year.
  

• A new nuclear plant represents an investment of $3 billion to $4 billion (depending on plant size), including interest during construction.
• Construction of a new nuclear power plant will provide a substantial boost to suppliers of commodities like concrete and steel and manufacturers of hundreds of components. For example, a single new nuclear power plant requires approximately:
  

1. 400,000 cubic yards of concrete—as much concrete as was used to build the Pentagon
2. 66,000 tons of steel—the same amount used to build the Empire State Building
3. 44 miles of piping
4. 300 miles of electric wiring—enough to stretch from Boston to Philadelphia
5. 130,000 electrical components.
   

¹The estimates in this fact sheet are based on normalized averages from analyses of the economic and employment impact of 22 U.S. nuclear power plants (Braidwood, Byron, Catawba, Clinton, Diablo Canyon, Dresden, Grand Gulf, Hope Creek, Indian Point, LaSalle, Limerick, McGuire, Millstone, Oconee, Oyster Creek, Palo Verde, Peach Bottom, PPL Susquehanna, Quad Cities, Salem, Three Mile Island and Wolf Creek). The figures are calculated per megawatt of installed capacity and reflect a nominal 1,000-megawatt plant size. In practice, new nuclear plants will be larger than 1,000 megawatts, so the economic benefits listed here understate the benefits that new nuclear plants will produce. The analyses employ the IMPLAN model for estimating direct and indirect economic and employment effects of industrial activity. IMPLAN is widely used by U.S. government agencies.

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