Become a Subscriber. Be the first to learn about new blogs and stories.

Is Nuclear Energy Clean Energy?

Is Nuclear Energy Clean Energy?

When I was 10 years old, I wanted to be a nuclear physicist. I wanted to solve the mysteries of nuclear fusion- the essence of our sun’s amazing heating power – colliding and combining hydrogen atoms to form helium and creating power plants that released enough energy to power entire cities. Nuclear fusion would be clean, would produce no long-term radioactive waste, and would redefine our world. It was incredibly exciting stuff to a 10-year-old. But then when I was 13, I bumped into a scientist and told him my dream. He said I should become an engineer. A nuclear engineer. And work on fission reactors. The ones that split atoms instead of combining them and caused massive amounts of radioactive waste. He said there was money in nuclear engineering. Uranium-based fission reactors had been powering cities and countrysides in the US since 1958 and in the 1970’s, 23 power plants were opening around the world each year. By 1990, there were over 100 nuclear power plants in the US. At the same time, the Navy was creating nuclear submarines. The first nuclear submarine was launched in 1954. While a non-nuclear sub can stay underwater for 2 weeks, a nuclear sub can stay under water for 3 months. Yes, it was a great time to be a nuclear engineer.

I didn’t become a nuclear engineer. Because of a boy. Long story. I was quite saddened by the Three-Mile Island incident in 1979, and especially devastated by the Chernobyl incident in Ukraine within the Soviet Union in 1986. At that point, everyone was afraid of fission, and by the 1990’s, fission reactors fell off. Or so we thought. Despite the “no nukes” protests – for both reactors and weapons of mass destruction – the US has 54 working nuclear fission power plants in 28 states across the country right now, quietly, effectively. In fact, Georgia just brought a new reactor online this year which can power 1 million homes. And the waste that everyone was always afraid of is able to safely stay on site in dry casks, even though it will be radioactive for centuries.

My interest in nuclear power rekindled a few years ago when I read that Europe had successfully contained and harnessed a nuclear fusion reaction and progress was being made toward the first commercial nuclear fusion reactor. Definitely got my attention. In fact, Europe recently had a meeting which the US participated in that looked at funding for future fusion reactors. In Japan, a full-scale fusion reactor has been put on line, and in the US, an experimental fusion reactor is on line at a US National Lab in California. And then, I read an article about new US efforts in fission and my jaw dropped. The new developments in fission reactors were considered alternatives to coal, “clean energy” – creating virtually 0% carbon dioxide and addressing the reality of climate change. All of a sudden, fission reactors, a thing of the past, were becoming the wave of the future. Two different types of reactors were being developed. The SMR, or Small Modular Reactor had been perfected by the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory and was planned for industrial scale by a company called NuScale which would build the reactor in Utah.

Unfortunately, the reactor, while producing “clean energy”, produced energy at a higher cost than fossil fuels and there was concern that customers would balk at the higher price. Within the last few weeks, NuScale terminated their Utah project and is focusing on building plants overseas where nuclear power is a cheaper option than fossil fuel. A second reactor to be built in Wyoming is being financed by Bill Gates with a company called TerraPower. This will be a Natrium reactor – a combination of nuclear fission and a molten salt battery system for storing energy. It is being built in an area dominated by coal and natural gas, enabling the new nuclear plant to fit into the existing electric grid and having residents who can be retrained into clean energy jobs.

Next on the fission reactor landscape is the microreactor. It is only about 15 feet high and weighs a ton, less than the average 18-wheeler, but can produce enough energy for a small remote town. It can also provide back-up for wind and solar energy sources when weather does not cooperate, and it can provide emergency power to plants or after disasters.

The reality of nuclear fission energy is that it’s a mixed bag. Its zero emissions output makes it a winner for climate change, up there with solar and wind power, with a smaller footprint, and the creation of clean energy jobs, both in building and running the plants. But there are major downsides. Reactors are extremely expensive to build. The safety of their technology has to be vetted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) which is notoriously slow, with a reputation for saying no to nearly every new design that has come along. And last, nuclear energy is not cheap. Americans have historically balked at clean energy when it costs more than fossil fuels. The Biden administration has already done a lot financially to help with the costs. The next task will be to address the NRC bureaucracy without sacrificing safety. Ironically, but not so surprisingly, China is about to surpass the US in nuclear energy production. Are we in a race with China? No. But are we in a race with time – yes. The need for clean energy is real, and getting on the band wagon with nuclear energy is a step in the right direction.

Share this post

Comments (35)

  • Bryant E Reply

    Very interesting information!Perfect just what
    I was looking for!Blog monry

    July 8, 2024 at 1:57 pm
  • Clifford.O Reply

    You have observed very interesting points! ps decent website.Blog monetyze

    July 13, 2024 at 4:31 am
  • wonka bars for sale Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More to that Topic: afrobougieblues.com/is-nuclear-energy-clean-energy/ […]

    July 26, 2024 at 7:49 am
  • rondreis senegal gambia Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you will find 40134 more Info to that Topic: afrobougieblues.com/is-nuclear-energy-clean-energy/ […]

    August 13, 2024 at 3:48 pm
  • центр перманентного макияжа псков Reply

    контекстная реклама в тамбове на студия елец купить лодка
    уфимка купить в саратове
    суши бар на тельмана красноярск варт авто в нижневартовске цены и комплектация
    парк северный лес воронеж реконструкция

    August 19, 2024 at 2:37 am
  • prijs van medicijnen bij de apotheek Advaita Aguadas Reply

    prijs van medicijnen in Amsterdam 1A Pharma Halen Medikamente kaufen in Wien mit Lieferung

    August 19, 2024 at 2:38 am
  • urogesic zonder doktersvoorschrift te krijgen Reply

    recensioni sull’acquisto online di farmaci a Roma Polpharma Natagaima
    acheter médicaments Belgique légal

    August 19, 2024 at 4:58 am
  • ufazeed Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More Info here to that Topic: afrobougieblues.com/is-nuclear-energy-clean-energy/ […]

    August 23, 2024 at 11:42 pm
  • การบริการของค่ายคาสิโน WM CASINO Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More Information here on that Topic: afrobougieblues.com/is-nuclear-energy-clean-energy/ […]

    August 24, 2024 at 10:33 pm
  • เรียนต่อออสเตรเลีย Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you will find 1788 more Information to that Topic: afrobougieblues.com/is-nuclear-energy-clean-energy/ […]

    September 3, 2024 at 2:12 am
  • photographers capturing sunrise Reply

    Your style is really unique in comparison to other people I have read stuff from.
    Thanks for posting when you have the opportunity, Guess I
    will just book mark this blog.

    September 8, 2024 at 11:59 am
  • เว็บหวยสด Lsm99 Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Here you can find 4772 more Information to that Topic: afrobougieblues.com/is-nuclear-energy-clean-energy/ […]

    September 8, 2024 at 10:23 pm
  • Ammunition For Sale Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More Information here to that Topic: afrobougieblues.com/is-nuclear-energy-clean-energy/ […]

    September 10, 2024 at 1:13 am
  • compra de somníferos basados en medicamentos Nisshin Theresienfeld Reply

    Tätigen Sie einen Online-Kauf von Medikamente ohne Rezept in Belgien teva Veldhoven leki dostępne w belgijskich
    aptekach

    September 12, 2024 at 3:06 pm
  • natuurlijke remedie tegen verstopte neus Reply

    Your method of explaining all in this paragraph is genuinely pleasant, all be able to easily understand it, Thanks a lot.

    September 13, 2024 at 2:46 pm
  • мемлекеттік қызмет туралы мақала Reply

    көмекші етістік примеры, көмекші етістік
    на русском пальто барберри черное, пальто
    burberry в клетку мужское даулет турлыханов первая жена фото, даулет турлыханов
    жена en590 specification pdf, d6 price per gallon today
    rotterdam

    September 14, 2024 at 10:59 am
  • экологиялық мәдениет тәрбие сағаты Reply

    жеке адамға байланысты мен ұғымының мәні, жеке адамның қоғамдық
    мәні коэффициент атерогенности меньше 2, коэффициент атерогенности повышен –
    что это значит 9 оқушыдан 4 кезекшіні қанша
    әдіспен таңдап алуға болады, комбинаторлық есептерді шығару 4 сынып құлақ ауруын
    қалай емдеуге болады

    September 15, 2024 at 10:02 pm
  • benadryl fíordhíol díreach Reply

    My partner and I stumbled over here different web address and
    thought I may as well check things out. I like what I see so
    now i’m following you. Look forward to exploring your web page again.

    September 17, 2024 at 3:13 am
  • Morpheus8 Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Info to that Topic: afrobougieblues.com/is-nuclear-energy-clean-energy/ […]

    September 17, 2024 at 5:54 am
  • Venta de medicamentos más baratos en línea Tarbis Asten Reply

    medicijnen prijsvergelijking in Rotterdam DOC Eferding ¿Dónde
    comprar tabletas?

    September 22, 2024 at 4:52 am
  • ата әже немере Reply

    дәрігер болғым келеді шығарма, менің арманым дәрігер болу шығарма самые высокооплачиваемые актрисы 2023, самые дорогие роли
    в кино самал жел сөйлем құрау,
    үндестік заңы қаншаға бөлінеді печь
    для бани алматы, купить печь для бани бу в алматы

    October 4, 2024 at 1:52 am
  • әліппе кітап сатып алу Reply

    swift переводы народный банк, перевод денег на
    карточку народного банка не қиын өлең, кім жақын не қымбат не қиын менің жауабым топ the ordinary, the ordinary схемы ухода
    лютая стая водка цена, меркенская водка на саумале

    October 6, 2024 at 8:23 am
  • приснилось что сестра парня беременна Reply

    когда сниться питон к чему это
    кармическая карта дьявол, кармический аркан рассчитать жанр песнопения и молитвы
    chalices 10 таро значение жертва приворота когда объявится

    October 12, 2024 at 5:13 am
  • once human cheat Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More here to that Topic: afrobougieblues.com/is-nuclear-energy-clean-energy/ […]

    October 13, 2024 at 10:52 am
  • slot online อัพเดทใหม่ Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More on to that Topic: afrobougieblues.com/is-nuclear-energy-clean-energy/ […]

    October 22, 2024 at 10:55 pm
  • созылмалы жүрек ревматикалық ауруы Reply

    закон о некоммерческих организациях
    рк, некоммерческие организации рк это жесир айелге баруга болама, жесир келиншектер ауыспалы осы
    шақтың жұрнағын белгілеңіз., ауыспалы
    өткен шақ примеры rincoe manto aio plus
    купить, manto aio характеристики

    October 27, 2024 at 12:25 pm
  • ตรวจสอบบัญชี ภูเก็ต Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Info to that Topic: afrobougieblues.com/is-nuclear-energy-clean-energy/ […]

    November 11, 2024 at 1:09 am
  • Cristal Reply

    Hey! Do you know if they make any plugins to help with SEO?

    I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but
    I’m not seeing very good gains. If you know of any please share.
    Appreciate it! I saw similar article here: Eco product

    November 11, 2024 at 4:11 am
  • 2 tokens por pm cams Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on that Topic: afrobougieblues.com/is-nuclear-energy-clean-energy/ […]

    November 11, 2024 at 1:04 pm
  • lazywin888 Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More on that Topic: afrobougieblues.com/is-nuclear-energy-clean-energy/ […]

    November 12, 2024 at 4:15 pm
  • Claudia Reply

    Hi there! Do you know if they make any plugins to assist
    with SEO? I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good success.
    If you know of any please share. Cheers! I saw similar text
    here: Wool product

    November 14, 2024 at 8:31 am
  • birthday turd Reply

    Usually, individuals are shortly interested in self cling window stickers on account of their scolorful and fun nature.

    November 16, 2024 at 12:24 am
  • өнегелі отбасының керегесі алтын Reply

    апталықтың ашылуы сценарий, өнер апталығының ашылуы сценарий тарых боюнча тест онлайн,
    тарых тест китеп скачать биогумус купить алматы,
    куплю биогумус оптом 1 абая продам 1 комнатную квартиру астана, абая 5 астана

    November 16, 2024 at 6:30 pm
  • MasterReplicaShop.com Reply

    MasterReplicaShop.com is a budding platform specializing in high-quality replica products, catering primarily to collectors and fans of media, movies, and gaming memorabilia. Here are some key highlights of the site:

    Product Focus
    MasterReplicaShop offers a range of items inspired by pop culture, with replicas designed to appeal to enthusiasts of specific franchises or genres. While detailed product categories remain under development, the shop’s niche focus ensures a targeted approach to meeting the demands of its audience.

    Articles and Insights
    The website could enhance its user experience by incorporating blogs or articles that delve into topics such as:

    The Craft of Replica Making: Exploring the processes behind crafting authentic-looking collectibles.
    Top Collectibles for Fans of [Popular Franchise]: A guide to must-have items.
    How to Spot Quality in Replica Merchandise: Tips for identifying well-crafted replicas.
    These articles can engage readers and establish the site as a resource for enthusiasts.
    Secure and User-Friendly Shopping
    MasterReplicaShop integrates secure payment options to protect customer data and offers an intuitive layout for easy navigation. This ensures that even new customers can explore products confidently.

    Community Engagement
    As the site grows, features like user reviews, social media integration, and community forums could create a stronger connection with customers, turning it into a hub for collectors and fans.

    For more about their offerings, visit MasterReplicaShop.com.

    November 17, 2024 at 8:25 am
  • สล็อตเกาหลี Reply

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More here to that Topic: afrobougieblues.com/is-nuclear-energy-clean-energy/ […]

    November 23, 2024 at 6:27 am

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *