Fossil Fuels or Nuclear Energy?

Explore the potential shift from fossil fuels to nuclear energy in the near future with Abhinav Jain.

---

What is it?

Nuclear energy is crucial to our societal progression from the use of fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. Nuclear energy grew in popularity as the concept of nuclear fission was discovered, and now it has spread to almost every economic superpower and accounts for close to 20% of the electricity production in countries like the US. There were many factors that affected the rise of nuclear energy, predominantly the social change in perspective from fossil fuels to renewable energy after the discovery of phenomena such as climate change and global warming. 

Nuclear energy is used to produce electricity, and since the crux of it is nuclear fission it has no direct carbon output. Fission is the splitting of atoms into smaller particles releasing large amounts of energy. In nuclear powerplants atoms of uranium are commonly used, and they undergo a controlled exothermic chain reaction wherein the break up and as a result large amounts of heat is released. The heat released from the fission heats water in a chamber around it, which then evaporates and as steam turns a steam turbine to produce electricity much in the same way that running water powers the turbines in hydroelectric power plants. The steam is then condensed so that the process may occur again. The energy produced from this process is normal electrical energy, and contributes to power grids in the producing country. 

Disadvantages

Nuclear energy has two prominent disadvantages; the risk associated with powerplants, and the disposal of radioactive waste. Nuclear powerplants, in the event of a meltdown, can cause death and destruction all over the surrounding area. Those working in the plant are at risk to exposure, and the land in and around the plant is rendered uninhabitable for many hundreds of years. Nuclear waste is difficult to dispose of as it cannot be disposed of in normal waste plants for risk of exposure; it is therefore disposed by one of two methods - containment & reprocessing. Reprocessing is expensive unfeasible at the current time, and containment is a waste of resources. Though there is often a high risk of death associated with nuclear powerplants, in truth there were no deaths as a result of the Fukushima or 3 Mile meltdowns; rather fossil fuels take 10000 lives a year in the US alone.

Economic Factors

The main economic factors associated with nuclear energy are the fixed costs to the producer, material costs, and environmental costs. Nuclear factories are extremely expensive to build, and often current factories are just improved rather than building new ones. Uranium is also increasingly rare, and is sold for exorbitant amounts. Nuclear energy production is also an expensive process, which raises the price of electricity and affects the common people in the area. Lastly, nuclear waste is increasingly expensive to dispose of and poses a financial and storage issue to the producer. The financial burden of constructing and operating a nuclear powerplant is extremely strenuous on any given govenment, which explains the lack of introduction of nuclear energy into the mainstream market, however technological advancements are being made and in time the cost of production will reduce as will the ease of radioactive waste-disposal methods. 

Social Factors

Social factors surrounding the growth of nuclear energy have been the acceptance of nuclear powerplants in populated areas; since technology has been improving, events such as Chernobyl and Fukushima are extremely rare, and the acceptance and tolerance of the people for nuclear energy has played a key role in allowing governments to construct powerplants. People were also being educated on the issue of climate change and global warming as the rise of nuclear energy took place, which led them to be more accepting knowing the consequences of sticking to fossil fuels. As people began to realise that nuclear energy is one of the only hopes for feasible returns from renewable sources, the source grew in popularity and now is a widespread source of electrical energy. All in all, nuclear energy is an opportunity that has been utilised with care over the last few decades, and we must continue to do so, however since it is not the "cleanest" method of producing energy we must also make advancements in the fields of solar, wind, and hydropower.

---

Written By Abhinav Jain