Mississippi Nuclear Industry
Contribution of Nuclear Power
As of January 1, 2005, Mississippi ranked 23rd among the 31 States with nuclear capacity.
Almost a fourth of Mississippi's electricity output is provided by the Grand Gulf Nuclear Power Station. With only a single reactor, Grand Gulf is not in position to be the State's dominant supplier of electricity. The competition for first is between coal and natural gas, fossil fuels that account for two thirds of the State's electricity generation.
Nuclear power is not the dominant supplier, but it is a steady supplier. With an uprate of capacity in 2002, nuclear managed to supply 24 percent of the State's electricity in both 2003 and 2004. Between 2002 and 2004, natural gas swapped leadership with coal (see table). Other fuels account for a small share of the electricity supply, but that small share is growing rapidly: from 3 percent in 2002 to 10 percent in 2004.
Mississippi relies on natural gas at least as much as on nuclear power, but the fluctuations in gas prices probably have hampered gas in reaching its full potential. In 2002, gas was the number one supplier of electricity in Mississippi. The next year, it dropped to third.
The State's domestic coal production is not sufficient to supply its electric power industry, so it relies heavily on out-of State production, mainly from Colorado (2.4 million short tons in 2003).
Mississippi is one of the candidates for a new nuclear power plant, based on recent industry announcements. Doubling nuclear capacity could have a significant impact the State's electricity supply.
| Electricity Market in Mississippi (Percent Generated by Fuel) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Coal | Natural Gas |
Hydro | Nuclear | Other |
|
2004*
|
40
|
27
|
0
|
24
|
10
|
|
2003*
|
44
|
23
|
**
|
24
|
7
|
|
2002
|
35
|
43
|
**
|
19
|
3
|
| Source: Form EIA-906, "Power Plant Report" *Total does not equal 100 percent due to independent rounding **Less than 1 percent | |||||
Mississippi Nuclear Highlights
- The Grand Gulf nuclear reactor was recently uprated (increased in capacity) to 1,231 net Megawatts(electric). The previously reported net capacity was 1,210 Megawatts (electric). Grand Gulf unit 1 is the largest boiling water reactor (BWR) in the United States.
- In 1997, the Grand Gulf power plant generated 10.8 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, a plant record. But generation declined to 9.2 billion kwh in 1998 and to 8.4 billion kwh in 1999. The uprate in Grand Gulf's capacity helped to again push output over 10 billion kwh in 2000 and 2002 through 2004. In 2003, the plant established a new generation record of 10.9 billion kwh.
Mississippi Nuclear Industry
Mississippi has a single nuclear power plant, but the plant's lone reactor is one of the Nation's largest. It is sufficient to rank Mississippi's nuclear capacity above that of eight other States.
| Nuclear Power Plants in Mississippi Net Generation and Capacity, 2004 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant Name | Nuclear Units | Capacity Net MW(e) |
Share of State Nuclear Generation (percent) |
Operator/Owner |
| Grand Gulf | Unit 1 | 1,231 | 100 | Entergy Nuclear/System Energy Resources, Inc. (90%) and Electric Power Assn. (10%) |
| Total | 1 Reactor | 1,231 | 100 | - |
| Source: Form EIA-860, "Annual Electric Generator Report," and Form EIA-906, "Power Plant Report." | ||||
| Nuclear Power Generation in Mississippi, 1985 through 2004 (Million Kilowatt Hours) |
 |
| Sources: Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-906, Power Plant Report, and predecessor forms. |
License Renewal
According to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the license for Grand Gulf's reactor expires after 2020. Therefore, no license renewal application is anticipated in the near future.
Information on the current status of all license renewal applications appears on the NRC web site at http://www.nrc.gov. To locate the data, select "index," then select the letter "l" and click on "License Renewal."
Air Quality in Mississippi
Of the 50 States plus the District of Columbia, the electric industry of the State of Mississippi ranked 35th highest in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2004. The State's electric industry ranks 26th highest in sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions and 32nd highest in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.
| Mississippi Airborne Emissions, Electricity Sector, 1990-2004 Metric Tons |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Carbon Dioxide CO2 |
Sulfur Dioxide SO2 |
Nitrogen Oxides NOX |
| 1990 | 14,563,646 | 119,573 | 53,136 |
| 1991 | 13,343,789 | 108,101 | 49,463 |
| 1992 | 11,880,622 | 106,013 | 42,759 |
| 1993 | 14,915,159 | 145,225 | 50,992 |
| 1994 | 15,085,171 | 99,920 | 54,212 |
| 1995 | 16,350,578 | 86,531 | 69,716 |
| 1996 | 18,264,221 | 114,900 | 50,995 |
| 1997 | 19,552,487 | 116,682 | 53,881 |
| 1998 | 21,267,961 | 142,621 | 61,427 |
| 1999 | 22,089,076 | 118,927 | 63,314 |
| 2000 | 22,299,505 | 131,653 | 63,084 |
| 2001 | 31,276,058 | 135,831 | 57,295 |
| 2002 | 23,344,070 | 69,202 | 43,387 |
| 2003 | 23,427,950 | 85,662 | 46,963 |
| 2004 | 25,294,597 | 90,055 | 49,464 |
| Source: EIA-767 and EIA-906 Survey, Energy Information Administration | |||
| Mississippi Airborne Emissions, Electricity Sector, 1990-2004 (CO2)* |
 |
| *Carbon Dioxide |
Mississippi Airborne Emissions, Electricity Sector, 1990-2004 (SO2)* |
 |
| *Sulfur Dioxide |
Mississippi Airborne Emissions, Electricity Sector, 1990-2004 (NOX)* |
 |
| *Nitrogen Oxide |
More Information on Mississippi's Nuclear Industry
Nuclear Generation
Electricity generation by nuclear power plants is available for each reactor and each State for the following years:
see also:
annual
nuclear statistics back to 1953
projected
electricity capacity to 2025
international
electricity statistics
International Atomic Energy Agency PRIS file, Operating History, contains data on load factor, availability factor, historical output, and more.