Environmental Answers

Nuclear energy provides answers to many challenging environmental concerns.
Nuclear energy has one of the lowest impacts on the environment of any energy source because it does not emit air pollution, isolates its waste from the environment and requires a relatively small amount of land.

Nuclear power plants aid compliance with the Clean Air Act of 1970, which set standards to improve the nation's air quality. Because they generate heat from fission rather than burning fuel, they produce no greenhouse gases or emissions associated with acid rain or urban smog. Using more nuclear energy gives states additional flexibility in complying with clean-air requirements.

Numerous studies demonstrate that nuclear energy’s life-cycle emissions are comparable to renewable forms of generation, such as wind and hydropower, and far less than those of coal- or natural gas-fired power plants.

Although nuclear power plants do not emit greenhouse gases when generating electricity, certain processes used to build and fuel the plants do. This is true for all energy facilities. Nuclear energy life-cycle emissions include emissions associated with construction of the plant, mining and processing the fuel, routine operation of the plant, disposal of used fuel and other waste byproducts, and decommissioning.

For details on nuclear energy and the environment, visit protecting the environment at nei.org. Also see nuclear power in our Corporate Responsibility Report.