More than 100 of California's Death Row inmates have died in the last 40 years. Barely one in 10 were executed.
A clean energy resource. Nuclear energy originates from the splitting of uranium atoms â a process called fission. This generates heat to produce steam, which is used by a turbine generator to generate electricity. Because nuclear power plants do not burn fuel, they do not produce greenhouse gas emissions. By reliably providing power 24 hours a day, nuclear energy is an important part of the energy mix necessary to meet electricity demand.
The splitting of a nucleus into fragments is accompanied by a very large release of energy. Nuclear Power Plants. Nuclear power plants use nuclear fission to generate power. The nuclei of uranium atoms, as well as the nuclei of other large atoms, can undergo nuclear fission naturally. The first nuclear fission reaction discovered involved uranium-235.