Entergy

Life-Cycle Emissions Analysis

Nuclear power plants do not emit greenhouse gases when they generate electricity. The life-cycle emissions from nuclear energy are comparable to other non-emitting sources of electricity like wind, solar and hydropower.

Sustainable Development

Nuclear energy has a vital role to play in providing clean energy for sustainable economic development around the world.

In the United States, nuclear electric power avoids approximately:

• 689 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year in the U.S*
• 1 million tons of nitrogen oxide*
• 3 million tons of sulfur dioxide annually in the U.S.*

For perspective, the volume of greenhouse gas emissions avoided by operating the nation’s 103 nuclear power plants is equivalent to taking 96% of all passenger cars off America’s roadways.*

*NEI Web site

Entergy Snapshot

Since Entergy was founded in 1913, its mission has been to generate clean, reliable and affordable power for its customers.

Entergy is:

• The first U.S. utility to voluntarily stabilize greenhouse gas emissions.
• The second cleanest utility generator in the United States.
• The operator of 12 nuclear plants at 10 sites with more than 30,000 megawatts of generating capacity serving over 2.5 million customers.
• The second largest nuclear owner and operator of nuclear plants in the United States
• The fourth largest utility in the United States.

Entergy’s Commitment to the Environment

Dow Jones Sustainability World Index

In 2009, Entergy was one of only two U.S. utility companies selected to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index.

• Entergy was the only U.S. utility on Dow Jones Sustainability World Index in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
• Entergy was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability North American Index for the eighth consecutive year.
• Entergy was ranked among the best in Environmental policy/management system.

2008 Forbes list of America’s Most Trustworthy Companies

For the second year in a row, Entergy was named for its corporate governance practices and accounting transparency.

2008 Platts Global Energy Awards – Award of Excellence

Entergy received a special Award of Excellence for its “extraordinary track record of standout performances year after year” over the past decade. Entergy, only one of four companies worldwide to receive the special award, was cited for being a finalist 39 times in the Platts Global Energy Awards contest, far more than any other energy company.

2007 Carbon Disclosure Project - Best in Class

The Carbon Disclosure Project honored Entergy Corporation as "Best in Class" in its approach to climate change disclosure. This marks the fourth consecutive time Entergy has been recognized by the CDP.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2007 Climate Protection Award

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognized Entergy for outstanding efforts to protect the Earth's climate and stratospheric ozone layer.

Indian Point Energy Center Snapshot

Indian Point’s Commitment to the Environment

Hudson River Fish

“Today the Hudson [River] is an international model for ecosystem protection. This is a waterway that was a national joke in 1966. It was dead water for 20-mile stretches north of New York City, south of Albany. It caught fire. It was an open sewer. Today it's the richest water body in the North Atlantic. It produces more pounds of fish per acre, more biomass per gallon than any other waterway in the Atlantic Ocean north of the equator.”
– Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Environmental Law Reporter, 2003

• Indian Point developed and implemented what was then a new technology to prevent fish as small as a finger from entering the plant.
• The screens currently in place slowly rotate to safely return the fish to the river away from the water intake structures.
• Indian Point Energy Center ran a multimillion dollar fish hatchery at the Entergy Center site from 1981 to 1991.
• The hatchery added 600,000 striped based fingerlings to the Hudson over the ten year program, increasing the overall population of striped bass by millions.

Water Quality

• Indian Point uses water from the Hudson River to cool steam generating systems inside the plant.
• At no time during the cooling process does cooling water from the Hudson come in contact with radiation or radioactive materials.
• The water is returned to the river via a discharge canal in compliance with federal and state environmental protection standards.
• Water flow at Indian Point is reduced during spring months to optimize fish spawning conditions.

The Hudson River Foundation

Indian Point has contributed more than $6 million to the Hudson River Foundation to finance scientific research on how best to protect the Hudson River from pollution.

Established in 1981, the Foundation was created to sponsor scientific research and education programs to develop sound public policy related to the River’s ecosystem.

Research

Indian Point Energy Center has also contributed more than $25 million of the $50 million spent on independent research, which concluded that Indian Point does not adversely impact Hudson River adult fish populations.

A senior DEC official has called the results of this research the “best set of fisheries data on the planet.”