Nuclear Energy in Louisiana

							Nuclear Energy in Louisiana
August 2011


Louisiana’s Electricity Generation

Nuclear                    18.2%
Coal                       26.4%
Oil                          0.1%
Gas                        51.5%
                                                                            
Hydro                        1.1%                               River Bend
Renewable and Other          2.3%                                      Waterford 3
                                                                                     
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration
        (EIA), 2010


Nuclear Power Plants in the State
                                                             2010                2008-2010
                                                          Generation          3-year Average
                         City         Capacity (MW)         (MWh)           Capacity Factor (%)
 River Bend        St. Francisville         974            8,363,163                82.6
 Waterford 3             Taft             1,168           10,276,184                98.5
 Total                                    2,142           18,639,347                90.5

Source: EIA



Clean Air and Economic Benefits
Economic Growth and Emission-Free Electricity         Status of the State’s Air Quality
Louisiana has experienced an average growth in        The parishes in the Baton Rouge area are in
gross state product of 1.4 percent per year over      nonattainment for the U.S. Environmental
the past five years. To keep Louisiana’s              Protection Agency’s eight-hour ozone standard.
economy growing, the state will need new              Ozone contributes to smog, which can lead to
sources of power. At the same time, parts of          asthma attacks and respiratory impairment in
Louisiana must deal with poor air quality.            young children and the elderly. Louisiana’s
Emission-free sources, like nuclear power plants,     nuclear power plants supply 94 percent of the
supply safe, reliable and affordable power to         state’s emission-free power, and help improve
meet the state’s economic growth without              the air quality.
polluting the air.
Nuclear Energy in Louisiana
Page 2 of 2 – August 2011


Nuclear Energy Prevents Emissions                  nuclear power plants to provide affordable
Generating electricity with nuclear energy         electricity to consumers and prevent
prevents the emission of pollutants like sulfur    greenhouse gases. In Louisiana, Entergy has
dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) and        filed a license application with the U.S.
greenhouse gases like CO2 associated with          Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build at
burning fossil fuels. The nuclear power plants     least one reactor in West Feliciana Parish.
in Louisiana avoided the emission of 21,000        Upon completion, the plant will provide
tons of SO2, 14,000 tons of NOx and 13             enough electricity to serve 1 million homes
million metric tons of CO2 in the year 2010        annually.
(Source: NEI/EPA). Emissions of SO2 lead to
the formation of acid rain. NOx is a key           Economic Growth & Job Creation
precursor of both ground-level ozone and           Nuclear energy is one of the few bright spots
smog. Greenhouse gases like CO2 contribute         in the U.S. economy because it creates more
to global warming.                                 high-paying jobs than other sources of
                                                   electricity and it helps stimulate the economy.
For perspective, the 14,000 tons of NOx            On average, a nuclear power plant creates
prevented by the nuclear power plants in           1,400-1,800 high-paying jobs during
Louisiana is the amount of NOx released in a       construction, with peak employment estimated
year by 710,000 passenger cars. There are          as high as 3,500 jobs during that period, and
nearly 2 million cars registered in the state of   yields 400-700 jobs during the operation of the
Louisiana.                                         plant. Additionally, the average nuclear plant
                                                   generates approximately $430 million a year
Potential Uprates at Nuclear Plants                in total output for the local community and
With additional capital investment, more           nearly $40 million per year in total labor
emission-free power can be generated at most       income.
existing nuclear power plants. This process of
increasing power output capacity is called an      In addition, one new nuclear manufacturing
“uprate.” According to an analysis performed       project has begun operations in Louisiana.
for the U.S. Department of Energy, uprates at      Shaw Modular Solutions completed a
Louisiana’s nuclear power plants could supply      410,000-square-foot facility at the Port of
3 percent more electricity and avoid annual        Lake Charles to produce structural, piping,
emissions of 1,000 tons of SO2, 300 tons of        equipment, and other modules for new nuclear
NOx and 39,000 metric tons of CO2.                 plants using the Westinghouse AP1000
                                                   technology. Operations began in late 2009.
New Nuclear Plants                                 The new facility is expected to employ 700-
The U.S. Energy Information Administration         1,400 people at full capacity.
predicts that demand for energy will grow 24
percent by the year 2035. To meet this
growing electricity demand in a manner that is
cost effective and protects our air quality,       This fact sheet is available at www.nei.org,
energy companies are planning to build             where it is updated periodically.