Nuclear Fusion Designs Nuclear Power Debate Pros And Cons

The how the pros and the cons by kieran hamilton january 8 2015 we are entering into a nuclear renaissance in the west with new nuclear reactors being constructed here and many other places in europe and america.

Bohemian grove gate. The united states leadership came from its historic role as a pioneer of nuclear power development. There is however a more radical approach known as nuclear fusion which might one day revolutionize how we generate our power. Nuclear energy pros and cons can be separated into the non greenhouse gas emitter consistent supply of energy and low operating cost for nuclear energy pros compared to potentially highly environmentally damaging high startup cost and radioactive waste disposal for nuclear energy cons.

In 2017 it generated 805 billion kilowatt hours of electricity. Is fusion power the clean power for the future. Public investment in nuclear energy far out strips investment.

Thats 32 of the 25 trillion kwh of nuclear power produced worldwide. Before deciding whether nuclear power should be abandoned it is important to consider how it works and its mains pros and cons. Fusion is the process which powers the sun and makes all life on earth possible.

Some think so but it will take another years of research. Its unsafe and expensive. South africa scrapped plans to add 96gw of nuclear power to its energy mix due to the cost which was estimated anywhere between 34 84bn.

How does a nuclear reactor make electricity in simple terms nuclear power is generated by a process in which atoms of uranium are split nuclear fission. However once solar wind and other alternative energies become more sophisticated nuclear power will eventually lose its importance on a global scale since those other green energies have more upsides compared to nuclear energy. The meltdown at the fukushima i nuclear power plant was the worst since chernobyl in ukraine 25 years earlier.

Nuclear energy may play a significant role to ensure our energy supply for quite a while. The 2011 fukushima disaster showed the world that nuclear power is clearly fundamentally unsafe. Instead of splitting atoms as nuclear fission does nuclear fusion joins or fuses two atoms together.

How does the future of nuclear energy look like. A recent virtual test reactor in the us estimate rose from 35bn to 6bn alongside huge extra costs to maintain the facility. This awesome source of unlimited clean power is considered today the only resource of clean energy that can help us to get rid of fossil fuels for a cleaner environment.

The initial costs for building a nuclear power plant are steep. Todays commercial nuclear reactors use nuclear fission to generate electricity. Few energy sources are as controversial as nuclear power.