The increasing energy demand and the necessity to reduce CO2 emissions are worldwide problems. This motivates the increasingly "green" choices, in order to reduce the anthropogenic environmental impact, made by companies and governments of many countries in the world. Nonetheless, among the clean energy options currently available on the world market, only nuclear power can provide constant energy, regardless of weather or geological conditions, making nuclear one of the most promising low-carbon energy options. However, the nuclear fission reactors are characterized by the formation of radioactive waste, and this problem can be partially solved through the spent fuel reprocessing.
"In its 2020 edition of Energy, Electricity and Nuclear Power Estimates for the Period up to 2050, the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA's) high case projection has global nuclear generating capacity increasing from 392 GWe in 2019 to 475 GWe by 2030, 622 by 2040 and 715 by 2050".
The main points that can then be discussed:
- total installation costs and the time to build a nuclear power plant;
- long-term profitability and maintenance costs;
- storage of the last waste ;
- research on spent fuel recycling optimization and next-generation reactors;
- industrial and cyber security;
- deep prejudices in many countries due to singular accidents;
- nuclear fusion possibility.
Dear Colleague Daniele Buongiorno,
If the other energies prove to be insufficient or if the demand for energy becomes stronger, we will be obliged to resort to nuclear energy with superior security conditions. In addition, gas and oil will cost more
@B. Mohammed-Azizi
The nuclear power plants are already very safe and there are numerous safety tests performed on them. Here you can find an interesting article that shows that the real risk of a nuclear power plant is very low:
https://ourworldindata.org/safest-sources-of-energy
Advantages and prospects of utilizing nuclear energy as time is passing by become quite transparent, as well as a necessity in respective expanses for security. The latter is quite debatable in view of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011 that over years contaminated a large portion of the Pacific ocean. The incident like that justify extraordinary expenses on building and exploitation of nuclear stations.
A nuclear power plant also produces long-lived radioactive waste that must be stored in a safe place.
Dear @B.Mohammed-Azizi,
For nuclear waste, research groups are working on spent fuel reprocessing and deep storage. Have you ever heard of the Cigéo project? Here's an article about it:
https://www.radioactivity.eu.com/site/pages/Project_CIGEO.htm
Dear @Len Leonid Mizrah,
You are falling back on the mistake mentioned in the question. You are generalizing a singular incident to justify the worldwide disuse of nuclear power. I therefore ask you if you have a clear understanding of what happened in Fukushima:
On March 11, 2011, Japan was hit by the fourth strongest earthquake recorded in history; the few deaths and displaced people were caused by the tsunami itself and not by the plant malfunction. It has been shown that there were no deaths due to radiation and the radiation absorbed by citizens is negligible. Attached you can find the final assessment of what happened:
"UNSCEAR 2013 Report".
Also in his message it would be necessary to distinguish the initial funding for the installation of the plant and the long-term gain after construction of the nuclear power plant. Here you can find an article that precisely distinguishes the costs:
https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/economic-aspects/economics-of-nuclear-power.aspx
Dear Mr D. Buongiorno,
When I said "safe place" I meant deep underground. The thing is known. But, there are always downsides. Water runoff, fires, people living nearby ... The nuclear reactor itself can pose a problem. Finally, a cooling source is needed, which is not possible in places where there is no water.
Nuclear energy has an advantage, that of abundance, but it should not be presented as being without disadvantages.
Fusion program is very big challenge. I don't think it's for tomorrow
Let ITER come out with successful results in 2025 as per global planning
The sustainable confinement of fusion evergy for controlled use seems to be the main issue as of now
"These nuclear binding forces are far stronger than the forces that hold electrons in orbit around a nucleus and influence the energy of chemical processes. This is why fusion fuels offer vastly higher energy density than chemical methods—about a million times denser than fossil fuels."
Credit: https://www.google.com/search?q=future+energy+source+and+nuclear+fusion&sxsrf=ALeKk027oE7N0-OgJ6jDkjzcNIzw9rzu_Q%3A1628705958011&ei=phQUYY0OlvrPuw-T8rvgBw&oq=future+energy+sources+and+nuclear+fusion&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAEYADIICCEQFhAdEB4yCAghEBYQHRAeMggIIRAWEB0QHjoHCAAQRxCwAzoHCAAQsAMQQzoFCAAQgAQ6BggAEBYQHkoECEEYAFDepwNYzeIDYLCDBGgBcAJ4AIAB6AOIAbwjkgEKMC44LjExLjAuMZgBAKABAcgBCsABAQ&sclient=gws-wiz
Dear Mr Karmakar,
I think we all agree with you. The problem is when will this be possible?
From: https://www.voix-du-nucleaire.org/fusion-newsletter-fevrier-2020/
"Research on controlled nuclear fusion began towards the end of World War II in the United States and the USSR. Steady progress has been made since and culminated in the 1990s with the demonstration in the United States and England of nuclear fusion power generation. However, these experiments achieved amplification rates of less than 1 (record set at 0.76), i.e. the energy produced was less than that injected into the plasma ....
After ITER, the European roadmap for the development of fusion provides for the commissioning of a demonstration reactor (simply called ... DEMO) producing electricity (of the order of 500MW), in the 2050s".
I think it could; there are former Environmental Leaders who now support nuclear energy. There are some people who think it must; that it is necessary if the world is to seriously fight climate change, global warming, and replace fossil fuels.
Mr P. K. Karmakar, B. Mohammed-Azizi and Jorge Costa-de-Moura,
Here you can find an interesting site about the ITER project:
https://www.iter.org/fr/sci/fusion
But, as you have said, unfortunately it's not an immediate solution.
Dear Daniele Buongiorno,
In the situation of underdeveloped other types of energy, lack of geographic, geological, climatic and natural conditions for the development of wind, solar, geothermal and hydropower, nuclear energy may be the optimal solution to ensure energy security for society. The development of nuclear energy may be a good solution to reduce the risk of an energy crisis caused by rapidly increasing prices for fossil fuels. Furthermore, nuclear energy may be an optimal intermediate step in the process of environmentally friendly transformation of the energy sector towards a zero-carbon energy industry. Zero-carbon power generation can be based mainly on hydrogen power and fusion power. Until the necessary technologies are developed and implemented to enable the development of zero-emission energy sources providing electricity and heat for various economic sectors and applications, nuclear energy may be the optimal solution for CO2 emission reduction. In a situation where the objectives of sustainable development, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, counteracting the progressive process of global warming are being met, nuclear energy is a good solution as an intermediate step, at the end of which is the construction of a fully emission-free and environmentally neutral energy sector.
Regards,
Dariusz
Dear Daniele Buongiorno . See the following useful RG link: Article Nuclear power as foundation of a clean energy future: A review
Kindly see also the following useful RG links: Article Nuclear Power as a Basis for Future Electricity Generation
https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/nuclear-energy-for-the-future
Also check please the following useful links: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/energies/special_issues/Sustainable_Nuclear
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wsj.com/amp/articles/is-nuclear-power-the-future-energy-uranium-solar-wind-renewable-plants-11647982572
The following RG link is also very useful: Article Nuclear power in the 21st century: Challenges and possibilities
Visit kindly the following useful RG link: Article Nuclear Energy: Past, Present and Future
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