Carbon Footprint
Square Footprint
13 kg CO2e / MWh
1.4 ft2 Land Use Change / MWh
Carbon Footprint
Square Footprint
13 kg CO2e / MWh
1.4 ft2 Land Use Change / MWh
If the average US home's annual electricity (10.715 MWh) was powered by nuclear, it would use:
16.4
Gallons of Gasoline Equivalent
139.3
kg CO2e
If the average US home's annual electricity (10.715 MWh) was powered by nuclear, it would use:
16.4
Gallons of Gasoline Equivalent
139.3
kg CO2e
The Carbon Footprint of nuclear power is 13 kg CO2e per Megawatt Hour (MWh). The greenhouse gas emissions of nuclear power are 37.4 times lower than natural gas power.
If the average US home's annual electricity (10.715 MWh) was powered by nuclear for 10 years, it would result in a land use change equivalent to:
1.0
Parking Spaces Equivalent
151
ft2
If the average US home's annual electricity (10.715 MWh) was powered by nuclear fro 10 years, it would result in a land use change equivalent to:
1.0
Parking Spaces Equivalent
151
ft2
Each year, uranium ore is extracted from the ground, which results in land use change. For every Megawatt Hour of electricity produced by nuclear, there are 1.4 ft2 of land changed. The land use change resulting from nuclear power is 6.1 times lower than natural gas power.
Data and Assumptions
Carbon Footprint:
- Lifecycle Carbon Footprint of Nuclear Power is based on NREL (2022). Median value of 13 g CO2e / kWh is based on a harmonized value from 27 studies with 99 unique values. This value is combined for light water reactors, which represent approximately 80% of all nuclear reactors in operation (World Nuclear Association, 2022).
- Lifecycle Carbon Footprint of Natural Gas based on NREL (2022). Median value of 486 g CO2e / kWh is based on a harmonized value from 58 studies with 93 unique values.
Land Use:
- Based on Trainor et al. (2016) “Nuclear” has a value of 0.13 km2 / TWh (0.13 m2 / MWh), which equals 1.4 ft2 / MWh.
- As nuclear energy requires the use of an extractive resource, land use change occurs every year, and thus power plant lifespan does not affect land use change.
- Square Footprint of Natural Gas based on Trainor et al. (2016). The combined land use factor for all natural gas production methods is 0.79 km2 / TWh (0.79 m2 / MWh), which equals 8.5 ft2 / MWh. As natural gas is an extractive resource, land use change occurs every year, and thus power plant lifespan does not affect land use change. Land use change varies by the method of natural gas extraction. See the Natural Gas Power Carbon Footprint & Environmental Impact page for the assumptions made.
- Square Footprint of a Parking Space is 144 ft2, based on the average dimensions stated by Franklin Street (2019).
- Average 2020 US Household annual electricity of 10,715 kWh is based on EIA (2021A).
- Carbon Footprint of gasoline is 8.50 kg CO2e / gallon, based on EIA (2021B).
References
DOE: US Department of Energy. (May 5, 2021). What’s the Lifespan for a Nuclear Reactor? Much Longer Than You Might Think. See Link to Source
EIA: US Energy Information Administration. (2021A). How Much Electricity Does an American Home Use?. See Link to Source
EIA: US Energy Information Administration. (November 18, 2021B). Carbon Dioxide Emissions Coefficients by Fuel. See Link to Source
Franklin Street. (May 23, 2019). How Large is a Parking Space? See Link to Source
NREL: National Renewable Energy Laboratory. (2022). Life Cycle Assessment Harmonization. See Link to Source
World Nuclear Association. (2022). Are there different types of nuclear reactors? See Link to Source
