With a world dedicated to increasing investment in greener technologies and the need to invest in renewable energies, can nuclear power play a part in our new society?
In recent years nuclear power has received very bad publicity. The Fukushima disaster has made countries with nuclear power question if this type of energy is viable. Germany has begun to decommission its plants and Japan has successfully shut down all of its plants.
This begs the question; could nuclear power ever work in a society without the risk of a meltdown?
Nuclear power has always been mentioned as the power of the future, but will it ever be a replacement for fossil fuels and can it be truly defined as a renewable source of energy??
In the coming years we could see a shift in energy infrastructure across the globe. There is a pressing need for new forms of energy, with the capabilities to meet high demands and the need for low carbon emissions.
Nuclear power is a definite contender to help meet future energy requirements. However, there has been speculation into the safety and security of Nuclear power.
Short Term Benefits
One of the benefits of using nuclear power is that it is an emission free form of energy. Being carbon neutral means that it could help towards our 2020 carbon cutting targets. Therefore, this could provide us with a long term energy solution with no environmental repercussions in terms of the carbon footprint.
Nuclear power can also produce large quantities of energy. This means that with one plant you could power a lot of homes because of the effectiveness of fission.
Long Term Risks
There are a few long term risks of using nuclear energy. A nuclear generator will always produce radioactive waste because of the Uranim used in fission. This radioactive material will need to be cooled and disposed of properly. This is to ensure that if the radioactive material leaks it will not harm any citizens. This is therefore costly and very difficult.
There is always a risk of a meltdown at a plant, for example Chernobyl and Fukushima. This is because of complacency and carelessness. It can be very harmful and even cause fatalities. Therefore, operating a nuclear facility can make people uneasy and cautious.
Nuclear power is a long term energy provider which can cause a problem. As we are complacent and depended on Gas, Coal and other forms of fossil fuels we could be depend on nuclear in the future. This would mean we wouldn’t have a diverse energy mix but again relying on a main source of generation.
A lot of nuclear sites currently are being decommissioned or planned to be decommissioned. Therefore, in the future if we was to stop operation at these plants it would be very expensive. Therefore, would the cost of building and producing energy out weigh the cost of decommission?
Below I found some examples of cost of production amd generation of a nuclear plant compared to that of gas and windfarms.
| Type | Cost (Million) | Generation (MW) |
| Nuclear | £2,000 | 1600 |
| Gas | £400 | 800 |
| Windfarms | £75 | 60 |
Table 1. Estimated Cost and Generation of Different Plant Types. (Source: BBC News)
Taking the data from the table above, a nuclear plant may seem a viable solution to our energy demand. However, after some calculations is it really financially viable?
Gas
To equal the generation of a nuclear facility you would need two gas plants the size of the currently proposed Newport, Wales site. This would mean it would cost £800 million in total. Compared to Nuclear power this is very cheap and could potentially save £1.2 billion, which could be used to build three more gas fired power plants. However, a gas fired power plant will emit harmful CO2 emissions which mean we wouldn’t hit our CO2 target for 2020.
Windfarms
Windfarms are the friendlier alternative from gas and nuclear, but to equal the generation of a nuclear you would need to build 26 to 27 windfarms the size of the Scroby Sands offshore windfarm in Norfolk, at a cost between £1.95 billion to £2.02 billion.This could mean that it could be cheaper or a bit more expensive than a nuclear plant depending on how much is needed.
The concern for this would be the space required to match the generation of a nuclear plant. You would need to make sure that where the windfarms are placed would have enough wind generated to power the turbines with very little intermittent problems.
Conclusion
In conclusion, nuclear is not the be all and end all of energy generation, but it would help meet our high demand. They can produce a vast quantity of energy whilst aiding us to a low carbon society. However, there are associated risks with nuclear generation, which is meltdowns and radioactive material.
There maybe a place in the future for nuclear power but more than likely when there is a 95% – 100% safety rating, because of the risks nuclear could produce. Only time will tell how our energy infrastructure will develop. Let's just hope it is a diverse mix, so we are not reliant on a few types of energy.
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