In Brief: What Pending Climate Legislation Does for Nuclear Power

Electricity generation accounts for more than one third of total U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Nuclear power is a virtually carbon-free source of reliable, baseload electricity which can play a very large role in decarbonizing the U.S. electric power sector. Existing government incentives have already spurred a renewed interest in building new nuclear plants, and comprehensive climate policy is expected to provide further impetus for a significant expansion of U.S. nuclear power generation (for an in-depth discussion of nuclear power and its role in climate mitigation see the Pew Center’s Nuclear Power.