The 40th anniversary of Earth Day that took place all over the world on April 22 was a good time to remind ourselves of the important part Entergy Nuclear and this community play in protecting the environment.

Your support to Grand Gulf helps make every day Earth Day at Entergy. You see, Entergy is committed to improving and protecting our environment. Our company is involved in a number of initiatives that support this commitment. These include wildlife and timber management and contributions to coastal and wetlands restoration. We also forge partnerships with other environmentally focused organizations like Keep America Beautiful to compound litter cleanup efforts and The Nature Conservancy to help protect our natural resources. We encourage our customers to manage their electricity wisely through our Simple Steps program and we help our employees and customers minimize their own carbon footprints with our Make an Impact online calculator.

But the most significant environmental action Entergy takes is producing electricity using nuclear energy. Customers in all four states served by our operating companies receive a portion of their power from nuclear generation. In Mississippi, 23 percent of the electricity needed comes from Grand Gulf. 

Why is nuclear energy so environmentally friendly? There are several reasons. First, producing electricity using nuclear energy is virtually emission free. In addition, nuclear plants use small amounts of fuel to produce electricity. Consider that as a fuel source, one tiny uranium pellet is equal to 126 gallons of oil, 2,000 pounds of coal or 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas.

A nuclear power plant typically requires only one square mile of land for 1,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity. To reach the same generating capacity, a hydroelectric power plant requires more than 1,500 square miles of land, a wind farm requires more than 90 square miles and a solar photovoltaic facility requires 18 square miles of land.

Another consideration is the new worldwide focus on green jobs. These are highly sought positions in fields that promote environmental preservation. Demand for green jobs has risen as awareness of our need to protect the earth has grown. Through Grand Gulf, your community is providing 652 green jobs to Mississippians. In fact, Grand Gulf has been providing these type jobs to this community for 25 years. And we will be providing them well into the future.

Randy Douet

Site vice president

Grand Gulf Nuclear

Port Gibson