Environment
Nuclear energy is clean energy.
Pennsylvania’s five nuclear power plants produce 91 percent of the Commonwealth’s carbon-free electricity.1 It is the only ‘clean-air’ energy source that can produce large amounts of electricity around the clock.
- Pennsylvania’s nuclear energy facilities help avoid 34 million tons of CO2 emissions per year, the equivalent of taking 7 million passenger cars off the road.
- Studies indicate nuclear energy’s life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions are comparable to renewables, like wind and hydro-power.
- Nuclear energy isn’t just eliminating carbon dioxide emissions – it helps avoid the emission of tens of thousands of tons of air pollutants like sulfur, nitrogen and particulates each year.
- The emissions saved each year are valued at a social cost of $1.5 billion annually.
