Former Vice-President Al Gore is calling for all electricity in the U.S. to be produced from carbon-free sources within 10 years. News reports are hailing his plan as a “green gauntlet”, and many news outlets are incorrectly reporting that his plan calls for all electricity to come from renewable energy.

Gore’s plan instead calls for 20 percent of electricity to continue coming from nuclear energy.

That would mean adding at least 22 gigawatts of new nuclear power – or about 22 new reactors, just to meet the projected growth in electricity demand. Dozens more reactors would also be needed to replace older nuclear facilities that are due for retirement within ten years.

The 103 nuclear power plants operating in the U.S. are now 26-years old, on average.

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