The nation’s largest provider of carbon-free energy discusses its challenges in Oswego
By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
For the past decade, Constellation Energy Corporation has remained America’s top producer of carbon-free energy with the lowest rate of carbon dioxide emissions among the 20 largest privately owned energy companies nationwide, according to the annual Benchmarking Air Emissions of the 100 Largest Electric Power Producers in the United States report.
The independent analysis bases the findings on publicly reported data on air quality.
“We’re really proud to be America’s largest producer of clean, zero-emissions, zero-carbon energy with our fleet across the country,” said Mark Rodgers, senior manager communications for Constellation. “And here in Upstate New York, we operate our three nuclear clean energy centers, including Nine Mile Point and FitzPatrick in Oswego and Ginna in Ontario. Our plants play a big role in providing the state of New York with reliable, clean energy and we take that job very seriously. We’re honored to do it.”
One of the company’s biggest day-to-day challenges is attracting talent. Rodgers said that Constellation tries to hire locally first, offering “a highly competitive salary and benefits. It’s always a challenge to make sure that we’re attracting the right talent.”
With a tight labor market, that’s not easy. Although some of Constellation’s openings require degrees and experience, others offer on-the-job training.
Another challenge for Constellation is that many consumers don’t understand much about nuclear energy. Nuclear energy is sometimes viewed as risky or environmentally unstable. But Rodgers views nuclear energy as “clean energy.”
“It’s two different ways of saying the same thing,” Rodgers said. “It’s something we’ve wanted to help educate the public about. We’re not putting greenhouse gases in the air, and we never have. That is one of the benefits of nuclear at a time the country and state of New York are prioritizing reducing carbon emissions to address climate change.”
Constellation operates nuclear, solar, wind and hydroelectricity plants which generate about one-tenth of the carbon-free energy in the US. The next “cleanest” energy producer had more than 4.5 times the rate of carbon emissions as Constellation.
“After this year of record-shattering weather, it is clear that all industries must move faster to reduce emissions and lay the foundation for our clean energy future,” said Joe Dominguez, president and CEO of Constellation in a statement. “As we transition to a clean grid, we must ensure the lights stay on in every hour of every day and nuclear energy is the only clean energy resource that can operate around the clock in all weather extremes. Backed by the unmatched reliability of our nuclear fleet, we are continuously seeking ways to increase our clean generation capacity, while helping customers achieve their own sustainability goals through innovations such as clean hydrogen and hourly carbon-free energy matching.”
The Benchmarking Air Emissions report noted primary air pollutant emissions, including nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide and mercury, from the 100 largest power producers nationwide. The data comes from reports from the US Energy Information Administration and the US Environmental Protection Agency.
The report stated that zero-carbon energy generation represents 41% of US energy generation in 2022. Of that 41%, nuclear energy comprised 44%, higher than any other category. Among all means of generating energy, nuclear was 18% nationwide.
Headquartered in Baltimore, Constellation Energy Corporation employs 800 at Nine Mile Point and 500 at James A. FitzPatrick, facilities in Oswego. It’s the second largest private employer in Oswego County The RE Ginna facility in Ontario, New York, employs 350, totaling 1,650 across Upstate, plus additional contractors during refueling outages.
