As our country and New Jersey’s energy needs have increased over the past decade, questions have been raised on how best to meet this growing demand and balance the effort with society’s obligation to the environment.

Today, there is talk of a nuclear renaissance.  Plans for new nuclear development and license renewal for existing nuclear plants have gained momentum the past 10 years.  In fact, more than half of the country’s 104 nuclear reactors have had their operating licenses extended an additional 20 years.

While some may object to an increased role for nuclear power, the nuclear renaissance is, in fact, well underway.  As competition was introduced into the electric industry, the nuclear industry responded with improvements in plant reliability and refueling maintenance outages.  These changes over the past 15 years have allowed nuclear plants to increase their capacity factors – the amount of time they operate – by more than 20 percent. 

Dozens of plants have also made improvements that allowed them to increase their power output to help meet the need for more energy. According to the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), an industry organization, these power uprates are the equivalent of adding another five to six nuclear reactors to the number in operation.

In New Jersey, nuclear energy has quietly played a leading role in meeting our energy needs. In fact, more than 50 percent of our power comes from nuclear, with PSEG Nuclear at the forefront of this effort.   

With a commitment to operational excellence, PSEG Nuclear’s Salem 1 and 2 and Hope Creek generating plants have increased their capacity factor approximately 15 percent since 2004.  Over the past three years, all three nuclear units have also set new generation records, keeping pace with our growing energy demands.

In addition, a power uprate at Hope Creek and a steam generator replacement project at Salem last year now enable the plants to produce more power -- enough to meet the needs of an additional 140,000 homes each day.  No other energy source could accomplish this in such an effective, efficient and clean manner.

At PSEG, we remain committed – in this nuclear renaissance – to providing safe, reliable, economic, green energy through our Salem and Hope Creek plants now and in the future.

What’s your view? Please let us know at Opinion@PSEG.com.