Nuclear Power: The Cleanest Source of Electricity for the Environment

Energy

Lite

Annissa Mutia 10/11/2022 11:40 WIB

URL has been copied

Memuat...

Global energy demand is increasing in line with population growth. However, the world's most commonly used energy sources produce CO2 emissions.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Based on Electricity Sources

A Font Kecil
A Font Sedang
A Font Besar

Access single data

Nuclear Power: The Cleanest Source of Electricity for the Environment

Want to get more access to Data Stories with a more affordable price? Subscribe.

By subscribing, you join us in presenting quality data.

Get:

Premium Data Stories access
Comfortable reading without ads
Download data in XLS, PDF, and image format
Access to data source information

Basic

~~Rp100.000~~

Rp50.000/month

Professional

~~Rp100.000~~

Rp150.000/month

Institutional For organizations

We accept the following payments:

Some payment methods are still in the process of being activated.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Based on Electricity Sources

Download

Source

A Small Font
A Medium Font
A Bigger Font

Global electricity needs are increasing in line with population growth. However, the world's most widely used electricity sources produce CO2 emissions, a type of greenhouse gas that causes global warming.

To identify the cleanest electricity sources, *Our World in Data* calculated the CO2 equivalent emissions per gigawatt-hour (GWh) of electricity generated over the lifecycle of power plants for various energy sources. This includes the footprint of raw materials, transportation, and power plant construction.

The results show that nuclear power is the cleanest energy source due to its low greenhouse gas emissions. CO2 emissions amount to 3 tons of CO2 per GWh.

Nuclear power plants use fission to generate electricity without any combustion, avoiding emissions from the electricity generation process. Furthermore, on average, only one typical nuclear reactor is needed to produce one GWh of electricity. The high capacity of nuclear reactor power plants is largely due to the high energy density of uranium and nuclear fuel.

Coal, oil, and natural gas power plants emit significantly more greenhouse gases than renewable and non-renewable power plants. In fact, emissions per GWh from coal-fired power plants reach 820 tons of CO2 per GWh, or approximately 273 times higher than nuclear power plants.

Hydropower offers a cleaner and renewable alternative to fossil fuels, however, the concrete and materials used in dam construction contribute to emissions. Furthermore, the decomposition of underwater vegetation in reservoirs also releases methane and carbon dioxide into the environment. However, emissions per GWh from hydropower plants are about 24 times lower than coal.

Solar and wind power are often cited as the most prominent energy sources in the clean energy transition. However, their energy density is lower than fossil fuels, and as a result, they often require more units to generate the same amount of power. For example, generating one GWh of electricity can require over three million photovoltaic panels, or 412 utility-scale wind turbines. Building these massive solar and wind farms adds a relatively large material footprint and consequently, GHG emissions.

Editor : Annissa Mutia

"Disclosure: This is an AI-generated translation of the original article. We strive for accuracy, but please note that automated translations may contain errors or slight inconsistencies."

Related Data

Number of Moderately Damaged Houses due to Natural Disasters in Indonesia 2015-2024

Area of Rice Fields, Land, and Plantations in Indonesia Damaged by Floods 2020-2024

Indonesian Land Controlled by Forestry Plantation Companies Increases Until 2024

Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra Hit by Tens to Hundreds of Disasters Every Year

272 People Died Due to Disaster in Aceh, Here's the Distribution (December 4, 2025)

295 Deaths from Floods and Landslides in North Sumatra, Here's the Breakdown (December 4, 2025)

Latest Data Stories

Average Household Telecommunications Consumption in [City Name] 2013-2023 Demographics 06/12/2025, 17:41 WIB

Population of Male Cattle Suitable for Slaughter, Period 2013-2024 Demographics 06/12/2025, 17:23 WIB

Mount Ibu Erupts Again This Afternoon (Saturday, December 6, 2025) Demographics 06/12/2025, 17:04 WIB

Average Per Capita Monthly Expenditure in South Papua 2024 Consumer Services & Health 06/12/2025, 15:51 WIB

Automotive, Motorcycle, and Repair Sector PDRB of ADHB 2013-2023 Technology & Telecommunications 06/12/2025, 15:20 WIB

Global Natural Gas Prices Rise to US$3.33/Mmbtu (Friday, May 23, 2025) Energy 06/12/2025, 15:16 WIB

Download

Source

Nuclear Power: The Cleanest Source of Electricity for the Environment

Nuclear Power: The Cleanest Source of Electricity for the Environment

Tags

Related Data

Number of Moderately Damaged Houses due to Natural Disasters in Indonesia 2015-2024

Area of Rice Fields, Land, and Plantations in Indonesia Damaged by Floods 2020-2024

Indonesian Land Controlled by Forestry Plantation Companies Increases Until 2024

Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra Hit by Tens to Hundreds of Disasters Every Year

272 People Died Due to Disaster in Aceh, Here's the Distribution (December 4, 2025)

295 Deaths from Floods and Landslides in North Sumatra, Here's the Breakdown (December 4, 2025)

Latest Data Stories

Popular Data

Nuclear Power: The Cleanest Source of Electricity for the Environment

Nuclear Power: The Cleanest Source of Electricity for the Environment

Tags

Related Data

Number of Moderately Damaged Houses due to Natural Disasters in Indonesia 2015-2024

Area of Rice Fields, Land, and Plantations in Indonesia Damaged by Floods 2020-2024

Indonesian Land Controlled by Forestry Plantation Companies Increases Until 2024

Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra Hit by Tens to Hundreds of Disasters Every Year

272 People Died Due to Disaster in Aceh, Here's the Distribution (December 4, 2025)

295 Deaths from Floods and Landslides in North Sumatra, Here's the Breakdown (December 4, 2025)

Latest Data Stories

Trending Topics

Popular Data