NUCLEAR POWER

SOME GOOD, BAD AND SOME COMPARISON

Nuclear power and climate change
“Nuclear power is a low-carbon source of energy, because unlike coal, oil or gas power plants, nuclear power plants practically do not produce CO2 during their operation. Nuclear reactors generate close to one-third of the world’s carbon free electricity and are crucial in meeting climate change goals.” ¹

What have we got?
“The United Kingdom has 9 operable nuclear reactors, with a combined net capacity of 5.9 GWe. In 2021, nuclear generated 14.8% of the country’s electricity. A UK government energy paper in mid-2006 endorsed the replacement of the country’s ageing fleet of nuclear reactors with new nuclear build. Construction has commenced on the first of a new generation of plants.” ²

Nuclear power plants are dangerous and vulnerable
“Power can’t be guaranteed in a time of climate crisis and extreme weather events either. Nuclear power is a water-hungry technology. Nuclear power plants consume a lot of water for cooling. They are vulnerable to water stress, the warming of rivers, and rising temperatures, which can weaken the cooling of power plants and equipment. Nuclear reactors in the United States and France are often shut down during heatwaves, or see their activity drastically slowed.” ³

Nuclear Power Versus Renewable Energy
“Nuclear energy has advantages over renewables in terms of reliability, GHG emissions, land use and waste. Nuclear is far more reliable (dispatchable) than renewables like wind and solar. Nuclear plants keep churning out energy even when the wind is not blowing, and the sun is not shining. While there are valid concerns about nuclear waste, there are also legitimate issues with renewable waste.  Wind and solar generate a litany of chemical wastes including toxic heavy metals like cadmium, arsenic, chromium, and lead. While nuclear waste can remain radioactive for thousands of years, waste metals associated with renewables remain dangerous forever. Perhaps most importantly, the volume of nuclear waste is a tiny fraction of renewable waste. Nuclear waste is 1/10,000th of the waste generated by solar and 1/500th of the waste generated by wind.” ⁴

¹ https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/what-is-nuclear-energy-the-science-of-nuclear-power
² https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/nuclear-power-in-the-world-today.aspx
³ https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/52758/reasons-why-nuclear-energy-not-way-green-and-peaceful-world/
⁴ https://changeoracle.com/2022/07/20/nuclear-power-versus-renewable-energy/#:~:text=Nuclear%20energy%20has%20advantages%20over,the%20sun%20is%20not%20shining