Facts

   Facts at a glance

   Fun facts

• In December 1951, an experimental nuclear reactor produced the first electric power from the atom, lighting four light bulbs.
• Nuclear energy has been used since 1953 to power U.S. Navy vessels, and since 1955 to provide electricity for home use.
• The energy in one uranium fuel pellet – about the size of the tip of your little finger – is the equivalent of 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas, 1,780 pounds of coal or 149 gallons of oil.
• Nuclear energy is the world’s largest source of emission-free energy.
• In 2008, U.S. nuclear power plants prevented the emission of 1 million short tons of nitrogen oxides, nearly 3 million short tons of sulfur dioxide and almost 689 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the earth’s atmosphere.  (Source:  Nuclear Energy Institute)