FAQs Nuclear Power
- Are nuclear plants safe?
- How much electricity does Duke Energy produce with nuclear power?
- What are the advantages of using nuclear power?
- How do you manage the nuclear waste?
- What is radiation and is it emitted from nuclear power plants?
- How long has Duke Energy used nuclear power?
- How long can nuclear plants operate?
Q. Are nuclear plants safe?
A. Safety and security are the highest priority at all Duke Energy nuclear power plants. Our nuclear program is designed to ensure the safe, secure operation of our nuclear stations every day. Read more about nuclear security in our Safety Tips section.
Q. How much electricity does Duke Energy produce with nuclear power?
A. The three nuclear stations owned and/or operated by Duke Energy provide about half of our total electrical generation in the Carolinas.
Q. What are the advantages of using nuclear power?
A. Nuclear power is a clean, safe and reliable source of energy. Because nuclear plants do not burn fuel, they do not emit combustion byproducts. Nuclear energy does not produce air emissions such as sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxide or particulates.
A single pellet of nuclear fuel about the size of a pencil eraser can produce as much electricity as a ton of coal. Additionally, the uranium used to make nuclear fuel is plentiful.
Q. How do you manage the nuclear waste?
A. There are two types of nuclear waste—low-level and high-level waste. Low-level waste from nuclear power plants, along with wastes from hospitals and other industrial sources, is safely disposed of in specially designed landfills.
The federal government has responsibility for disposing of high-level waste (used nuclear fuel). They are currently studying a permanent disposal facility at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Until that facility is licensed and begins receiving waste, used nuclear fuel is safely stored at plant sites in storage pools or specially designed containers. Duke Energy has more than 25 years of experience handling low and high-level waste. Our employees are well-trained, environmentally conscious professionals who take pride in their work.
Q. What is radiation and is it emitted from nuclear power plants?
A. Radiation occurs naturally all around us—in cosmic rays, the sun, minerals, radon gas and in manmade sources such as medical and dental X-rays, televisions, and smoke detectors.
A unit of radiation measurement is the millirem. The average person receives about 360 millirems of natural and manmade radiation each year mostly from natural sources. Nuclear power plants contribute a very small amount of radiation to the environment. A resident of an area very near a nuclear plant will receive less than one additional millirem of exposure per year.
Q. How long has Duke Energy used nuclear power?
A. Duke Energy began generating electricity with nuclear energy in 1973 when the first unit at Oconee Nuclear Station, near Seneca, South Carolina, went into operation. A second and third unit followed in 1974. Oconee Nuclear Station’s three nuclear reactors are capable of providing more than 2,538 megawatts of electricity.
In the early 1980s, McGuire Nuclear Station’s two units on Lake Norman in Huntersville, North Carolina, began operating, providing 2,200 megawatts of electricity.
In the mid 1980s, Catawba Nuclear Station’s two units in York, South Carolina, began operating, providing 2,258 megawatts of electricity. Catawba brought Duke Energy’s nuclear production capability to today’s total of about 7,000 megawatts.
Q. How long can nuclear plants operate?
A. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licenses U.S. nuclear power plants to operate for 40 years. The NRC chose this license term primarily because it corresponded with utilities’ standard accounting practice of depreciating power plants over 40 years. It was not based on safety, technical or environmental issues.
Current federal regulations permit nuclear plant owners to renew their plants’ operating license for an additional 20 years. To renew a license, the NRC must be satisfied the plant can operate safely for an additional 20 years. Duke Energy’s Oconee Nuclear Station received its extended license May 23, 2000, making it the second nuclear plant in the U.S. to do so. Catawba and McGuire Nuclear Stations both received their extended licenses on December 5, 2003.
As the source of approximately 20 percent of our nation’s electricity, nuclear power is clearly a major contributor to our nation’s energy supply, and must continue to be in the future.
