How Much Energy Does A Nuclear Power Plant Produce Compared To Coal

Nuclear energy has been powering the u s.

How much energy does a nuclear power plant produce compared to coal.

That doesn t mean you can simply replace it with a 1 gigawatt coal or renewable plant. A typical nuclear reactor produces 1 gigawatt gw of electricity. That residue forms a toxic mess with pollutants such as arsenic cadmium chromium and mercury see. Nuclear power costs can be around the same as a coal fired plant but over time the initial costs for the plant to operate go down.

They also provide more clean energy to the grid than any other energy source accounting for about 60 of the country s clean energy electricity production. Based on the capacity factors above you would need almost two coal or three to four renewable plants each of 1 gw size to generate the same amount of electricity onto the grid. The palo verde nuclear power plant in arizona is the largest nuclear power plant in the united states with three reactors and a total net summer electricity generating capacity of about 3 937 mw. But this incredible technology isn t new.

Grid for the past 6 decades and produces around 1 gigawatt of power per plant on average. A typical coal burning power plant creates over 300 000 tons of waste ash and sludge each year. Efficiency and reliability a pellet of nuclear fuel weighs approximately 0 1 ounce 6 grams.