Clean Air Benefits of Nuclear Energy
Three Mile Island Unit 1 is a safe, clean source of electricity and has had a tremendous, positive impact on the air quality of Dauphin County and the State of Pennsylvania by generating electricity with virtually no air emissions. TMI Unit 1 recognizes the importance of providing clean, safe and
reliable energy and we will continue to do so through extended operation.
While some power plants burn oil, coal, or natural gas to produce electricity, nuclear power relies on small, half-inch long, uranium pellets. Each pellet is capable of releasing as much energy as one ton of coal. And a single ton of uranium releases energy equivalent to about 400,000 barrels of oil. But unlike fossil fuels, nuclear power releases no combustion products to the environment. It is clean energy.
Without TMI Unit 1, the region would need an alternative energy source to meet electricity demand. By replacing TMI Unit 1 with a coal-fired power plant similar in size, 271 metric tons of carbon dioxide would be emitted into the environment by the coal plant. The operation of Three Mile Island avoids harmful air emissions, and improves the air quality of the region.
Without nuclear energy generation in the U.S., almost 134 million automobiles would have to be eliminated to keep the country's nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide and other emissions from increasing.
