Why we need nuclear power

>> Tuesday, February 28, 2012


By Stanford L. Levin
Nuclear power is our single most important source of clean energy. Nothing that has happened in Japan changes the necessity and desirability of nuclear power.
Here at home, nuclear power is dependable. Illinois nuclear plants generate electricity over 95 percent of the time, and Ameren's Calloway plant over 92 percent of the time. This is far better than coal or gas plants and the variability of solar and wind power, which are of no use when the sun isn't shining or the wind isn't blowing.
Nuclear-generated electricity is clean energy. Currently, nuclear power provides about 20 percent of the electricity in the U. S. Moreover, nuclear generation, unlike coal, has no carbon emissions and does not contribute to global warming.
Natural gas produces only about half of the carbon emissions as burning coal, but this is misleading. Natural gas is increasingly recovered by a process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Fracking involves pumping sand, water and chemicals under very high pressure to break up underground shale, releasing trapped gas.
Fracking uses lots of water, which is often of limited availability. The chemicals used are not regulated and can be dangerous. They are a threat to water supplies. Fracking gives off methane, and, considering all aspects, using natural gas to generate electricity may actually give off more greenhouse gases than burning coal.
Solar power is losing its environmentally friendly status. Generating significant amounts of electricity requires large-scale solar installations such as those proposed for western deserts with fragile environments. These large installations take a substantial amount of usually public land that is then unavailable for other uses. The eleven major solar projects that have been approved in California and Nevada could be replaced with three or four nu-clear plants with no negative environmental consequences and a lower cost.
Large scale wind farms, those big installations of windmills that one sometimes sees, pose noise and visual pollution issues. They are also hazardous to birds and other wildlife.
Because of their cost and their variable nature, it is simply unrealistic to think that we can rely on solar and wind power to satisfy a major portion of our electricity needs.
Small modular nuclear reactors, similar to those the navy uses successfully in its ships, are being developed for commercial use. These may be less expensive than large power plants, but, more importantly, they can be installed as needed to meet the growth in demand for electricity. They may also be better suited to replacing smaller gas, oil, and coal facilities as they wear out. These modular units, by being matched more closely to increases in demand, avoid the problem of funding a large nuclear plant before all of its capacity is needed.
By most accounts, U. S. nuclear plants are built to a higher safety standard than Japanese plants, including the Fukushima Daiichi plants. The U.S. nuclear industry and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will learn from the Japanese experience and will make U.S. nuclear facilities even safer.
It would be a mistake to slow down the development of nuclear power in the U. S. Indeed, it should be accelerated. Many sites were designed from more plants that were initially built, so it is not a difficult task to license new plants for these locations. We can contribute to our energy independence, reduce global warming, and generate environmentally friendly electricity, all at a competitive cost.
STANFORD L. LEVIN is emeritus professor of economics, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He has also served as a commissioner on the Illinois Commerce Commission, the utility regulatory agency in Illinois, and consults on energy issues in North America and abroad.


Read more: http://thesouthern.com/news/opinion/editorial/guest/article_730435e4-a6bd-11e0-85f5-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1nfkWzcRd

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About This Blog

We are students of Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN)

Currently taking Introduction to Nuclear Technology (MEHB513) under Assoc. Prof Ir Dr Nasri A. Hamid.

This blog is our project for this subject.

MEHB 513

Introduction to Nuclear Technology.
This course provides the introduction to Nuclear Technologies, beginning from the fundamental physics to its recent applications in power generation.

Course Objectives

At the end of this course, the students should be able to:
1. Understand the fundamental concepts of nuclear physics, process flow and reactor theory.
2. Explain the nuclear fuel cycle and processes.
3. Understand the applications of nuclear technology in power generation.
4. Appreciate the hazards of radiation and understand the concept of nuclear reactor safety.

  © MEHB513 Nucl3art by Jihardist 2012

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