Green pursuit of a low-carbon future absent the introduction of more nuclear power on existing grids is nothing but a fantasy. Today nuclear power generates nearly 20 percent of U.S. electricity and more than half the nation’s carbon-free energy from 93 reactors, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI). In contrast, the Department of Energy reports wind and solar produce 12 percent. While nuclear reactors maintain the ability to produce stable output, solar panels and wind turbines are dependent on weather.

Over-reliance on unreliable wind and solar has triggered short-term energy crises in Europe and California. Europe’s dependence on Russian fuel to generate instantaneous power when weather-dependent sources failed while shutting down nuclear plants has further constrained the West’s diplomacy with President Vladimir Putin waging war in Ukraine. The U.S. runs the risk of a similar dependency on Russian resources without diversifying its uranium supply to fuel the nation’s nuclear reactors. Forty-six percent of U.S. uranium comes from Russian-backed states.

Embracing nuclear, however, remains the only environmentally sustainable solution to a lower-carbon future, with plants requiring 300 to 400 times less land than that required to mass-produce from wind and solar, according to an analysis from Environmental Progress’s Michael Shellenberger.