Nuclear Energy as an alternative to fossil fuels

The global reliance on fossil fuels is a function of our energy needs, and although there have been
numerous initiatives implemented in order to reduce demand, such as levying large taxes on air
transport, appropriate sources of supply still need to be defined. Fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas
have the benefit of being capable of servicing our energy needs. However, they are a chief contributor
to climate change, they produce great amounts of air pollution and carbo dioxide while operating.

When we hear the words “clean energy,” what comes to mind? Most people immediately think of
solar panels or wind turbines. Well, where renewable sources such as wind or solar are clean, they are
also intermittent, require an uneven geographical distribution, and are prohibitively expensive to fully
replace the carbon pollutants.

Nuclear is often left out of the “clean energy” conversation despite it being the second largest source
of low-carbon electricity in the world behind hydropower.

Nuclear energy is a much more reliable power generation source. Unlike solar and wind energy,
which need the sun to be shining or the wind to be blowing, nuclear power can be generated at any
time throughout the day. This means that a nuclear power plant can produce energy nonstop, and you
won’t have to experience any delays in energy production.

As countries across the globe struggle to balance their desire for a reliable energy
supply with their contribution to climate change, nuclear power presents a solution.

But just how clean, sustainable and safe is nuclear?

What is Nuclear Energy

Nuclear energy is the energy in the nucleus, or core, of an atom. Atoms are tiny units that make up all
matter in the universe, and energy is what holds the nucleus together. There is a huge amount of
energy in an atom's dense nucleus. In fact, the power that holds the nucleus together is officially
called the "strong force."

Nuclear energy can be used to create electricity, but it must first be released from the atom. In the
process of nuclear fission, atoms are split to release that energy.

A nuclear reactor, or power plant, is a series of machines that can control nuclear fission to produce
electricity. The fuel that nuclear reactors use to produce nuclear fission is pellets of the
element uranium. 

Uranium is the fuel most widely used to produce nuclear energy. That's because uranium atoms split
apart relatively easily. Uranium is also a very common element, found in rocks all over the world.
However, the specific type of uranium used to produce nuclear energy, called U-235, is rare. U-235
makes up less than one percent of the uranium in the world.

A typical nuclear reactor uses about 200 tons of uranium every year. Complex processes allow some
uranium and plutonium to be re-enriched or recycled. This reduces the amount of mining, extracting,
and processing that needs to be done.

Nuclear power plants produce renewable, clean energy. They do not pollute the air or

release greenhouse gases. They can be built in urban or rural areas, and do not radically alter
the environment around them.

PROS
Protects Air Quality-

Nuclear is a zero-emission clean energy source. It generates power through fission, that spins a
turbine to generate electricity without the harmful by products emitted by fossil fuels. According to
the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), US. avoided more than 476 million metric tons of carbon dioxide
emissions in 2019. That’s the equivalent of removing 100 million cars from the road and more
than all other clean energy sources combined.

It also keeps the air clean by removing thousands of tons of harmful air pollutants each year that
contribute to acid rain, smog, lung cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Small Land Footprint -

Despite producing massive amounts of carbon-free power, nuclear energy produces more
electricity on less land than any other clean-air source.

A typical 1,000-megawatt nuclear facility in the United States needs a little more than 1 square mile
to operate. NEI says wind farms require 360 times more land area to produce the same amount of
electricity and solar photovoltaic plants require 75 times more space.

To put that in perspective, you would need more than 3 million solar panels to produce the same
amount of power as a typical commercial reactor or more than 430 wind turbines (capacity
factor not included).

Reliability-

Nuclear energy is a much more reliable power generation source. Unlike solar and wind energy,
which need the sun to be shining or the wind to be blowing, nuclear power can be generated at any
time throughout the day. This means that a nuclear power plant can produce energy nonstop, and
you won’t have to experience any delays in energy production.

Nuclear power plants are also typically used more often because they require less maintenance and are
designed to operate for longer stretches before re-fuelling (typically every 1.5 or 2 years).
 ECONOMICS OF GOING NUCLEAR

Before we delve into the various costs associated with Nuclear Energy, we will address 2 major
concerns surrounding use of Nuclear- Radioactive Waste and Safety.

Radioactive Waste-

A major environmental concern related to nuclear power is the creation of radioactive wastes such as
uranium mill tailings, spent (used) reactor fuel, and other radioactive wastes. These materials can
remain radioactive and dangerous to human health for thousands of years.

Radioactive wastes are classified as low-level waste or high-level waste. However by volume, most of
the waste related to the nuclear power industry has a relatively low level of radioactivity. The
radioactivity of nuclear waste decreases over time through a process called radioactive decay.

Therefore, the waste products produced by nuclear energy may well be a price worth paying for a
realistic means to meet climate change targets. The greater the concern about climate change, the
more willing we must be to store nuclear waste – especially with technological advances dramatically
reducing the storage costs in recent years.

Safety

There exists a notion and public concern over safety of Nuclear plants especially due to incidents at
Chernobyl and Three Mile Island.  As a result, commercial nuclear power is sometimes viewed by the
general public as a dangerous or unstable process. However, this view is misguided and ignorant.

The World Bank did analyses in “Our World in Data” which showed the likely hood of premature
deaths of in human population due to various energy sources. Nuclear energy was far safer than Coal,
Oil and Gas with likely hood of death 1 in 14 years as compared to 28, 18 and 3 in a year respectively
for the fossil fuels.
(Data extrapolated for an average town in Europe with a popn. 108,700)

Contrary to popular belief, nuclear power has saved lives by displacing fossil fuels, nuclear energy is
not only safer but also cleaner than fossil fuels.

Nuclear energy doesn’t solve the issue of sustainability, because there is only a finite number of
nuclear materials on earth. Therefore, an emphasis on sustainability, rather than renewability, is an
argument in favour of nuclear provision.

With this in mind, switching from unsustainable to fully renewable energy quickly is immensely
costly and unnecessary. Instead, making energy usage more sustainable is an alternative, realistic
strategy.

The basic economics metric for any generating plant is the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). It is
the total cost to build and operate a power plant over its lifetime divided by the total electricity output
dispatched from the plant over that period, hence typically cost per megawatt hour. It takes into
account the financing costs of the capital component (not just the 'overnight' cost). These costs include
Capital Cost, Plant Operating Costs and External Costs(typically very low since it is an eco-friendly
method of energy production). Decommissioning and waste disposal costs are also fully taken into
account.
Assessing the relative costs of new generating plants utilizing different technologies is a complex
matter and the results depend crucially on location. Nuclear power is cost competitive with other
forms of electricity generation, except where there is direct access to low-cost fossil fuels. Coal is,
and will probably remain, economically attractive in countries such as China and Australia, due to
large availability of fossil fuels.

Nuclear power plants are expensive to build but relatively cheap to run. System costs for nuclear
power (as well as coal and gas-fired generation) are very much lower than for intermittent renewables.
If the social, health and environmental costs of fossil fuels are also taken into account, the
competitiveness of nuclear power is improved further.

Thus Nuclear power plants provide a range of benefits to society that are not compensated in the
commodity electricity market revenue stream. These public benefits include emission-free
electricity, long-term reliable operation, system stability, system fuel diversity and fuel price
hedging, as well as economic benefits from employment.