Resources & Stats
March 2008
For U.S. Nuclear Power Plants, 2007 is a Year for the Record Books
The U.S. nuclear energy industry won the electricity sector’s equivalent of baseball’s Triple Crown last year by setting record highs for electricity production and efficiency, while establishing a record low in average production cost. The plants produced approximately 807 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2007, according to preliminary figures from the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). No single country in the world—except Japan, China and Russia—produces this much electricity annually from all sources of electricity.
The nation’s 104 nuclear plants, operating in 31 states, also set a new record for efficiency (see chart and related story on page 3). Based on preliminary figures, the 2007 average capacity factor—a measure of on-line availability of power—was 91.8 percent, exceeding the previous record of 90.1 percent set in 2004. Capacity factor is the ratio of electricity actually produced compared to the theoretical maximum electricity that a power plant can produce operating at full power year-round.
Also in this issue:
Nuclear Plants Recognized for Habitat Protection
A new program by the Wildlife Habitat Council called Signatures of Sustainability will help raise the profile of the habitat protection work done by nuclear plants. Two of the projects selected as program pilots are at nuclear facilities owned and operated by Ontario Power Generation—the Darlington and Pickering nuclear plants in Ontario, Canada.
State Bills Promote New Nuclear Plants
Oklahoma, Washington and California are only the most recent states to encourage new nuclear plant construction. And the Wisconsin legislature is considering a bill that would repeal the state’s nuclear moratorium, with Minnesota expected to follow.
‘Age of Turbulence’ Demands Safe, Clean Nuclear Power
Whenever the discussion turns to ways to provide for increasing electricity demand while addressing climate change and national energy security, more individuals are reaching the same conclusion: Nuclear power must be part of the nation’s energy mix.