Potential Benefits In the context of human-caused climate change, the biggest be

Question

Potential Benefits

In the context of human-caused climate change, the biggest benefit of nuclear power generation is the low CO2e emissions compared to other thermal plants. Per Bauer, Brecha, &

Based on information below on “Nuclear Power – Feasibility for Today’s Challenges” provide:

A well justified “for” or “against” recommendation regarding the global construction/operation of more nuclear plants.

Regardless of your answer in part (i), if nuclear plants are to be built, what recommendations would you have for their safe global deployment?

Nuclear Power

Although the specific design and operation can vary, the most common form of nuclear power generation is using a reactor to control nuclear fission of a fuel source (most often uranium) to produce heat. This heat is then used to create steam which powers rotating turbines to create electricity as per many other generation plants. Commercial development of nuclear power generation began in the 1950’s, and as of 2016 there are over 440 nuclear power stations operating in 31 countries around the world with a total capacity of about 390,000 megawatts and an annual output of 2500 TWh (Fig 1). These existing facilities produce just over 11% of the world’s electricity and there are about 60 more nuclear power plants currently under construction. (“Nuclear Power in the World Today,” 2016). World nuclear power production peaked in 2006 and since that time has undergone a slow decline (Figure 1) due to increasing costs and the high profile Fukushima accident in March 2011. Although the Chernobyl accident in 1986 ranks as the worst nuclear disaster as measured by radioactive material released, the recent timeframe as well as location of the Fukushima reactor - in a major developed nation - caused many countries to rethink their nuclear power strategies, with most deciding to cancel or re-evaluate before moving forward. As per Bradford (2012), “Once-robust Japanese plans for new nuclear construction have been abandoned, with the government’s energy white-paper in October 2011 calling for a reduction in reliance on nuclear power.” (p. 151).

Potential Benefits

In the context of human-caused climate change, the biggest benefit of nuclear power generation is the low CO2e emissions compared to other thermal plants. Per Bauer, Brecha, & Luderer (2012), “Because nuclear power results in no direct CO2 emissions, some see it to be a promising technology option for climate change mitigation. Nuclear power is also promoted as a technology with low emissions of other air pollutants such as sulfur and nitrogen oxides.” (p. 16805). Although renewable power generation methods are currently being researched, developed, and implemented it will take some time before they make up the majority of power production. Therefore nuclear power proponents suggest nuclear power should, at minimum, be used as a transitional technology, if not be considered a more permanent solution. Another key benefit of nuclear power plants is their long lifespan once in production. Although most nuclear plants in the United States were initially licensed for a 40 year operating period, this was not really a technical limitation as opposed to a precautionary one. As per Voosen (2009), over half the reactors in the United States have had their initial licenses extended for an additional 20 years and according to one survey of energy executives, operational lifespans of 80 or more years are technically viable.

Potential Issues

Despite the fact that major nuclear accidents are statistically rare, they are similar to plane crashes in that they capture headlines and are presented by the media in a very sensationalist way. This is not to imply that nuclear accidents are not serious as they do have significant initial and long term effects that can cover large areas and can spread over thousands of kilometers. Some accidents like Chernobyl have a large initial explosion that causes damage and loss of life, and in cases where radioactive material is released there are very major long term effects on plants, animals and people with areas potentially being rendered uninhabitable up to 20,000 years. The unpredictability of external factors in an accident is one of the most difficult aspects to deal with, and after Fukushima in 2011 it was discovered that the magnitude of external threats far exceeded what the utility had anticipated, resulting in multiple safety measures being simultaneously knocked out. To prevent serious catastrophes, it is vital to ensure that key specific safety capacities such as the control room, emergency generators and cooling systems remain in working order (Butler, 2011, p. 121). A key detriment against nuclear power is the very large (and increasing) cost due to the complexity of nuclear power plants themselves and the increasing development and implementation costs of safety measures. Depending on factors such as the design of the reactor, construction costs and regulatory processes, new reactors can cost anywhere from $4 billion to $9 billion USD (Ferguson, 2011). In addition, the actual consumer cost of nuclear power is not as competitive as it once was, making the argument for such a large initial investment less justifiable. For example 2012 estimates by Exelon, the largest US nuclear operator, predicted that electricity from new nuclear plants would cost $120 per megawatthour (MWh) (Bradford 2012). New projections for nuclear remain quite high, with the proposed UK Hinkley Point C having a long term power purchase agreement price of £92.50/MWh. In comparison, other low-carbon alternatives such as utility scale solar PV ($58-70/MWh), on shore wind ($32-77/MWh), efficiency ($0-50/MWh), and NGCC ($52 – 78/MWh) have much lower Levelized Costs of Energy (Lazard 2015; Fig 2). Nuclear power is also not technically a renewable resource; despite the fact that plants do have long lifespans, they also require a fuel source. The most commonly used fuel is uranium, which is a finite material that must be mined, processed, and will eventually run out. There is ongoing research and development into using thorium as a fuel source instead, and although this has the added benefit of being less prone to uncontrolled chain reactions and it is believed to be more abundant than uranium, it remains a finite resource. Certain types of nuclear plant, often referred to as “breeder reactors” can extend the use of uranium but the by-product, plutonium, can be used to create nuclear weapons. These reactors have since been banned in a number of countries, including the United States.

Explanation / Answer

When choosing which way I’ll go for choosing to move in order to get the electrical energy I would like to go along the renewable energy way and I would choose to comments against this nuclear energy for the following reasons

there is always some danger of any type of danger that will be going to spoil the area for longer period of time.

Although I accept that there is no emission of harmful constituent in the atmosphere but what about the radio waste and how to use it in the future. As we are going to set up more numbers of the nuclear plants then it’ll be going to add up this waste material on global scale.

The setup cost and maintenance cost is also very high as compare to the other technology.

It can cause an great thereat to the environment if there is any type of natural disaster as the radio active material may can get exposed and may can cause an great damage to the environment for the next generation to come. We have good set of supporting data for our recent past in this regard.

The various recommendations that I can provide in order to built up nuclear plants are

Proper planing of the nuclear waste should be worked out.

How to use up this waste material which’ll be coming out of the reactor should be used up as this setup is going to be implemented on the global scale.

Various geological consideration should be considered first, we should choose some stable location in order to setup this power plant so that no seismic waves can cause any type of damage to the setup.

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