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Economic Benefits of U.S. Nuclear Plants

Economic Development
Nuclear power plants provide substantial economic benefits during their decades of operation. The jobs, taxes, and direct and secondary spending strengthen the economies of communities with nuclear plants and will give a similar boost to any community welcoming a new nuclear plant.

Affordable Electricity
Nuclear power is the lowest cost producer of baseload electricity. Average nuclear production costs have declined more than 30 percent in the last 10 years, to an average of 1.7 cents per kilowatt-hour. This includes the costs of operating and maintaining the plant, purchasing nuclear fuel, and paying for the management of used fuel. Electricity generated from nuclear power also has tremendous forward price stability because only a small part of production costs are fuel costs. Fuel accounts for 80 percent to 90 percent of the cost of electricity produced by fossil fuel-fired generation, making electricity from fossil plants highly susceptible to fluctuations in coal and gas prices.

The low and stable cost of nuclear power helps reduce the price of electricity paid by consumers.

Value of Environmental Benefits
The average nuclear plant avoids the emissions of approximately 10,000 tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 32,000 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) each year. The total value of these avoided emissions based on current emissions allowance prices is approximately $24.6 million per year.²

The average nuclear plant avoids 7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) each year.  The value of these avoided greenhouse gas emissions based on the current European Union carbon allowance price is roughly $35 million per year.³

As many as 32 new reactors are currently under consideration. These reactors represent an investment of approximately $80 billion to $100 billion to build. This is equivalent to the projected spending on reducing emissions at existing fossil-fired generators, according to federal government estimates. New nuclear plant construction will supply as much as 50,000 megawatts of additional clean and affordable electricity to meet the demand of a growing economy.

²NO_x and SO₂ allowances prices are as of December 2006.

³CO₂ prices are as of January 2007.

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