Is nuclear power the future of sustainable energy supply?

Author: Iloka Benneth Chiemelie
Published: 9th-November-2014

1.      Introduction

When it comes to measuring sustainability in energy resources, nuclear power stands out as one of the favorable approaches. The reasons are underlined in the fact that it can easily be operated, it can provide vast amount of energy to conveniently power any given system or society, and it does emit huge CO₂ like other energy sources such as Coal and Petroleum. The global demand for energy resources will most certainly increase significantly in the next decades as a result of economic and demographic growth, especially in developing worlds. If the current trends is not reversed, this demand will be met by fossil fuels, which will further increase Carbon emission and cause more harm to the society. Thus, any energy resource that is capable of reducing this emission and enhancing sustainability of the human race is a welcomed path. 

2.      Nuclear power as the source of future energy

As both business and governments battle the challenges of increasing emission, all eyes are set on new paths that will increase sustainability and nuclear power is one of such paths. Generating electricity from nuclear power doesn’t produce any direct emission of CO₂ – which is the major greenhouse gas that is responsible for global warming (GIF, 2010). The indirect emission (which is synonymous with all sources of energy) is as a result of fossil fuels used in operating the nuclear fuel cycle (GIF, 2010). Additionally, advancement in technologies can also limit the indirect emission of Carbon from the fossil fuels used in operating the nuclear plant.

Since nuclear power is an established source of low-carbon energy, it can play important role when it comes to reducing CO₂ emissions, and it can also ensure reliable and affordable supplies of energy. A number of scenarios have been used to illustrate this an such include the International Energy Agency’s Blue Map scenario, which showed that there will be 50% reduction in CO₂ emission from energy sources (NEA, 2012). Such case will be made effective by adopting 1 200 GWe of nuclear capacity by 2050, which is equivalent to 24% of the global supply of electricity. The expectation is a higher proliferation of nuclear power with an eventual reduction in emission (NEA, 2012).

From the above analysis, it is clear that nuclear power is a reliable and effective source of electricity and it does have major advantage of reducing carbon emission – thus, ensuring environmental sustainability. As such, one would be right to conclude that nuclear power holds a powerful position as the future source of energy because it is the most effective way of meeting global demand for energy-based low-carbon emission.

3.      Will increase of nuclear power in a country reduce availability in another country?

Unlike fossil fuels and coal, increase in nuclear proliferation of a given country will not affect availability in another country. This is because nuclear energy are operated from nuclear plants and doesn’t deplete like fossil fuels and coal. Thus, countries can have any many nuclear plants as deemed necessary without their own proliferation affecting availability in another country (as would be experienced in the case of mined fuels where depletion can affect availability – as the more a country have, the less another country will have). Thus, nuclear power is clearly a reliable means of energy supply 9 GIF, 2010; IAEA, 2007; IAEA, 2008; NEA, 2011; von Lensa and Verfondern, 2010). In any case, it is important to understanding that some barriers can hinder the extent of proliferation a country can undertake and such barriers include:

1.      Associated difficulties with financing high capital costs of nuclear plants.

2.      Constraints of individual capacity and human resources needed for construction and maintenance of nuclear plants.

3.      Addressing pre-Fukuhima extents of how the public accepts nuclear energy.

4.      Demonstrating high standards of safety management with respect to radioactive waste and many more issues (NEA, 2012).

Irrespective of these barriers, ceteris paribus, proliferation in one country will not halt availability in another country as all countries can have as many nuclear plants as desired. Availability is only halted by the barriers above.

4.      Conclusion

The future of energy is nuclear because it is reliable, effective and sustainable. However, necessary measures need to be taken into consideration when deciding to go nuclear because past experiences (e.g. The Furkushima plant in Japan) have shown that nuclear disasters can bring about unending damaged and heavily devastating effects on the society. However, ceteris paribus, nuclear is the future of sustainable and reliable energy supply.

5.      References

GIF (2010), Annual Report 2010, Generation IV International Forum, published by OECD/NEA, Paris, France.

IAEA (2007), Non-Electric Applications of Nuclear Power: Seawater Desalination, Hydrogen Production and other Industrial Applications, Proceeding of an International Conference, Oarai, Japan, 16-19 April 2007, IAEA-CN-152, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria.

IAEA (2008), Advanced Applications of Water Cooled Nuclear Power Plants, IAEA-TECDOC-1584, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria. IAEA (web), Small and Medium Sized Reactors, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria, available at: www.iaea.org/NuclearPower/SMR/ [Accessed on: 20-8-2014]   

NEA (2011), “Current Status, Technical Feasibility and Economics of Small Nuclear Reactors”, OECD/NEA, Paris, France, available at: www.oecd-nea.org/ndd/reports/2011/current-status-small-reactors.pdf [Accessed on: 20-8-2014]

NEA (2012), “The Role of Nuclear Energy in a Low-carbon Energy Future.” Available at: http://www.oecd-nea.org/nsd/reports/2012/nea6887-role-nuclear-low-carbon.pdf [Accessed on: 20-8-2014]   

von Lensa, W. and K. Verfondern (2010), 20 Years of German R&D on Nuclear Heat Applications, Research Centre Jülich, Germany, 4th International Conference on IGCC & XIL Technologies – IFC2010, 3-6 May 2010, Dresden, Germany.