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Mississippi Nuclear Industry |
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Report Updated:
August 21, 2006
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.
Mississippi Nuclear Highlights
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.
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.
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: International Atomic Energy Agency PRIS file, Operating History, contains data on load factor, availability factor, historical output, and more. |
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