Nuclear Energy Is Good for Texas
Texas’ Population Is Growing, and its Energy Needs Are Growing Along With it.
Texas is expecting a surge in electricity demand over the next 20 years. Current sources of electricity are not nearly enough to meet future needs. The Lone Star State must have an energy mix in place that allows it to stay competitive as the need for power is expected to grow 48 percent by 2030. Nuclear energy is a critical part of that mix for a variety of reasons; its safety, reliability, benign environmental impact and relatively low operating expense among them.
Coalition Formed to Support Nuclear Energy in Texas.
United under the name Nuclear Energy for Texans, a statewide coalition has formed in support of nuclear energy as a safe, reliable and clean alternative to meeting the increasing energy needs of the state. The coalition includes elected officials at the state and local level, representatives from business and industry, environmental groups, health organizations and the scientific and engineering community.
The coalition was formed solely to educate Texans and promote the benefits of nuclear energy as a safe, reliable and clean alternative form of electricity for the state.
Nuclear Energy Keeps Our Air Clean.
The state’s decreasing air quality makes clean energy essential. Unlike coal plants, nuclear power plants do not produce or emit any greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide. No other source, capable of producing the amount of electricity that nuclear can produce, can do it without emitting greenhouse gasses. In contrast, fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas, emit tons of greenhouse gases into Texas skies.
Generating electricity with clean nuclear energy from one large plant is the environmental equivalent of taking one million cars off Texas roads for one year. Thanks to Comanche Peak and the South Texas Project, Texas avoids the emission of more than 70,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, 19,000 tons of nitrogen oxide and 28 million metric tons of carbon dioxide every year.
Nuclear Energy Is Safe.
U.S. nuclear plants are subject to extraordinarily comprehensive safety measures and are inspected daily by full-time resident inspectors of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to ensure compliance. Plants are designed with what is called a “defense in depth” philosophy that requires redundant, diverse and reliable safety systems. Every safety system has at least one independent backup system and many have multiple back-up systems – if one system should fail, another automatically backs it up. Numerous built-in sensors monitor temperature, pressure, water level and other safety factors; these sensors can adjust or even shut down the plant immediately if they find anomalies.
Nuclear Energy is Reliable.
Nuclear energy has proven to be a stable, reliable way to produce electricity for Texas and the country. Texas’ two nuclear plants, South Texas Project and Comanche Peak, have been safe, steady producers of inexpensive electricity for two decades .