Nearly 20% of the power produced in the United States comes from 100 nuclear energy plants in 31 states. That was nearly 800 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2013, enough to power 70 million homes. Nuclear energy is reliable, safe and clean. 64 percent of carbon-free electricity in the United States is provided by those 100 plants, three times more clean energy than hydropower, the next largest carbon-free source. Nuclear energy provides four times more emission-free power than wind, solar and geothermal energy combined. No wonder nuclear energy plants are engines of prosperity for the communities where they operate. An average plant employs 500-700 permanent workers with an annual payroll of $40 million. The plant pays $16 million in local and state taxes and $67 million in federal taxes every year. Nuclear plants are essential to the American economy, both in terms of the clean energy they generate and the economic benefits they provide their hometowns. Power News Wire reports on the business of the nuclear power industry: its significant economic impact, design and construction of new plants, its thousands of skilled workers, regulatory and safety concerns, its effect on the environment, America’s reliance on it as a source of clean electricity, and the successes of the communities who are home to nuclear energy facilities.