Gone Fission

The science behind nuclear power was first developed in the late 1800s. During WWII the focus of scientists in the field was to create and develop the atomic bomb. However, since that time, focus has been on the development of nuclear power as a source of electricity generation (World Nuclear Association 2013). Due to climate change, nuclear energy has been the subject of much debate over the last decade or so. The period has even been described as the ‘Nuclear Renaissance’ (Marshall 2005).

Figure 1 - Map of UK Nuclear Sites

Nuclear power has been subject to much criticism throughout its history, in no small part due to disasters such as Chernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima in 2011. Disasters such as these have led to widespread scepticism and have hindered the development of nuclear power in many countries, including our own. The UK has fallen behind other countries such as France in terms of nuclear power production. The two countries have very similar populations but in 2012, France produced 405 billion kilowatt hours of nuclear energy compared to the UK’s 64 (NEI 2013). Figure 1 (UK Government 2013) is a map showing the UK’s nuclear sites. The new build site at Hinkley Point C has been criticised in the news recently as some believe the power generated will be too expensive (BBC 2013).

Aside from the fact that nuclear power stations have been the (very) occasional cause of meltdown disasters, nuclear power is relatively environmentally friendly compared to coal, oil and gas powered stations. Figure 2 (UK Government 2006) shows the CO₂ emissions per kilowatt hours for several energy sources. Notice that the carbon footprint of nuclear is negligible when compared with those of coal and gas and is as small as hydro power and wind power. Due to the nature of nuclear fuels such as uranium, disposal of waste fuel can be a tricky business. I won’t get into this in huge detail here but I have included a link at the bottom of the page in case anyone is interested on how this is done.

Figure 2 - Bar chart showing relative carbon footprints of several fuel sources

I believe that nuclear power will need to play a substantial role in the future production of the UK’s energy. I could well see nuclear energy acting as a like for like replacement for coal, oil and gas fuelled plants as it boasts a constant supply of energy. I feel that potential hazards such as waste disposal can be avoided by appropriate management. The threat of a nuclear disaster will however, remain lodged in many people’s minds. Nuclear energy is an asset that we need to take advantage of but do so with extreme caution. The development of new fuels (see Thorium post) and techniques such as fusion may well hold the key to unlocking the full potential of nuclear power.

The link to waste disposal info is here,

Thanks for reading.