Nuclear Power

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Nuclear Power

Advantages

  • Highest energy density - this means that it rarely needs to be refuelled. 1kg Uranium fuel yields as much energy as 13 tonnes of coal. Less money spent/emissions released from transport
  • High abundance of uranium fuel exists - great potential as a long-term future energy resource
  • Reactor life - this has been increased in the newer, 3rd generation, reactors from 40+ years to 60+ years
  • 3rd Generation - these reactors also have a more reliable consumption and lower fuel consumption
  • Reliable - the energy supply can be controlled to meet demand and is therefore not intermittent
  • Several potential fuels - thorium is 3x more abundant than uranium, but can be used as a fertile fuel to 'breed' the fissile uranium-233

Disadvantages

  • Environmental - mining and processing of uranium or thorium ore for fuel causes habitat loss, noise and dust pollution as well as turbid drainage water and hazardous wastes like toxic metal leachate
  • High embodied energy - this contributes to climate change as it means that a lot of energy (usually from fossil fuels) is required in manufacture/construction of the power plant due to materials like cement
  • Radioactivity - from radioactive waste and reactor accidents (e.g: Fukushima, 2011) incur health risks such as DNA damage, mutations, cancers
  • Expensive - the total costs of decommissioning have exceeded estimates, and the cost of extracting, concentrating and processing the fuel is high
  • Expensive complex technology - requires developed infrastructure and is costly to run
  • Many extraction techniques are too expensive - the purity of uranium ore tends to be naturally very low, so it is not economically viable to exploit and extract. Similarly, a lot of technology is required to do so - e.g: extracting uranium from coal ash will be economic if uranium prices increase enough

Evaluation

- Significant uncertainties and environmental impacts make the energy too risky to be a future energy resource- High expenses: through construction, decommissioning, technology, and the extraction of fuel- These costs mean that it would not be viewed as sustainable, as to be so it must be affordable and avoid significant/unacceptable environmental impacts- Do these outweigh the positives? These include the abundance of uranium and potential fuel sources, efficiency, energy density, and reactor life (good for long-term use- Classed as a renewable source: however the fuel itself (uranium, thorium or plutonium as fertile fuels) is depletable as there is only a limited supply

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