Nuclear power endorsed research and consulting firm The Brattle Group has come up with some numbers that attest to the economic and environmental benefits of nuclear power in New York State. In total, the group said, the four nuclear facilities in the state, which includes six operating reactors, contributes about $2.47 billion to the state's gross domestic product.
The group, sponsored by Nuclear Matters, has produced similar reports for other states and on a national level. The latest national industry assessment, released in July, estimates the industry's contribution to the U.S. GDP at about $60 billion per year.
The most recent assessment covers the state that is home to six reactors, Entergy's FitzPatrick and Indian Point units 2 and 3 (in Scriba and Buchanan, N.Y., respectively) and Exelon's Ginna and Nine Mile Point units 1 and 2 (in Ontario and Scriba, N.Y., respectively).
The Brattle Group said the six reactors provided New York with 5,000MW of carbon emissions-free electricity and nearly 42 milion megawatt hours of annual electricity generation.
The industry accounts for a out 18,000 full time jobs in the state, including direct and secondary jobs, and provides $113 million in net state tax revenues annually.
Nuclear power's environmental impact is measured by the carbon emissions that it does not generate. The average annual carbon dioxide emissions that would be created without New York's nuclear power industry amount to about 26 million tons per year. “This is worth an additional $1.12 billion annually if valued at the U.S. Government's estimate for the social cost of carbon,” the Brattle Group said.
In a nutshell, “the plant's are typically one of the largest employers, tax payers and charitable contributors in their respective counties,” the group said.
Nuclear energy provides almost 20 percent of the United States’ electricity and 33 percent of electricity in New York. The industry also helps keep electricity prices lower than they would otherwise be. “New York consumers would pay over $1.3 billion annually (in 2015 dollars) and over $11.3 billion in the next ten years (on a net present value basis) absent the state’s nuclear plants,” said The Brattle Group.