Nuclear power

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"Atomic power" and "Atomic Power" redirect here. For the film, see Atomic Power (film).
This article is about nuclear fission and fusion power sources primarily. For commercial
quantities of nuclear energy attained fromnuclear decay, see Geothermal energy. For the
political term, see List of states with nuclear weapons.

The 1200 MWe, Leibstadt fission-electric power station in Switzerland. The boiling water reactor(BWR),
located inside the dome capped cylindrical structure, is dwarfed in size by its cooling tower. The station
produces a yearly average of 25 million kilowatt-hours per day, sufficient to power a city the size of Boston.
[1]

The Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, the largest in the US with 3 pressurized water
reactors(PWRs), is situated in theArizona desert. It uses sewage from cities as its cooling water in 9 squat
mechanical draft cooling towers.[2][3] Its total spent fuel/"waste" inventory produced since 1986, is contained
indry cask storage cylinders located between the artificial body of water and the electrical switchyard.

U.S. nuclear powered ships,(top to bottom) cruisers USS Bainbridge, theUSS Long Beach and the USS
Enterprise, the longest ever naval vessel, and the first nuclear-poweredaircraft carrier. Picture taken in
1964 during a record setting voyage of 26,540 nmi (49,190 km) around the world in 65 days without

refueling. Crew members are spelling outEinstein's mass-energy equivalenceformula E = mc2 on the flight
deck.

The Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker NS Yamal on a joint scientific expedition with the NSF in 1994.

2012 World [civil] electricity generation by fuels (IEA, 2014) [4]

Coal/Peat (40.4%)
Natural Gas (22.5%)
Hydro (16.2%)
Nuclear fission (10.9%)
Oil (5.0%)
Others (Renew.) (5.0%)

Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions that release nuclear energy[5] to generate heat,
which most frequently is then used in steam turbines to produce electricity in a nuclear power
station. The term includes nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion. Presently,
thenuclear fission of elements in the actinide series of the periodic table produce the vast
majority of nuclear energy in the direct service of humankind, with nuclear decay processes,
primarily in the form of geothermal energy, and radioisotope thermoelectric generators, in niche
uses making up the rest.
Nuclear (fission) power stations, excluding the contribution from naval nuclear fission reactors,
provided 11% of the world's electricity in 2012,[6] somewhat less than that generated by hydroelectric stations at 16%. Since electricity accounts for about 25% of humanity's energy usage
with the majority of the rest coming from fossil fuel reliant sectors such as transport, manufacture

and home heating, nuclear fission's contribution to the global final energy consumption is about
2.5%,[7] a little more than the combined global electricity production from "new renewables"; wind,
solar, biofuel and geothermal power, which together provided 2% of global final energy
consumption in 2014.[8]
Regional differences in the use of fission energy are large. Fission energy generation, with a
20% share of the U.S. electricity production, is the single largest deployed technology among
currentlow-carbon power sources in the country.[9] In addition, two-thirds of the European Union's
twenty-seven nations's low-carbon energy is produced by fission.[10] Some of these nations have
banned its generation, such as Italy, which ended the use of fission-electric generation, which
started in 1963, in 1990. France is the largest user of nuclear energy, deriving 75% of its
electricity from fission.
Along with other sustainable energy sources, nuclear fission power is a low carbon power
generation method of producing electricity, meaning that it is in the renewable energy family
oflow associated greenhouse gas emissions per unit of energy generated.[11] As all electricity
supplying technologies use cement etc., during construction, emissions are yet to be brought to
zero. A 2014 analysis of the carbon footprint literature by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) reported that fission electricities embodied total life-cycle emission intensity value
of 12 g CO2 eq/kWh is the lowest out of all commercial Baseload energy sources,[12][13] and second
lowest out of all commercial electricity technologies known, after wind power which is
anIntermittent energy source with embodied greenhouse gas emissions, per unit of energy
generated of 11 g CO2eq/kWh. Each result is contrasted with coal & fossil gas at 820 and 490 g
CO2 eq/kWh.[12][13] With this translating into, from the beginning of Fission-electric power
stationcommercialization in the 1970s, having prevented the emission of about 64 billion tonnes
ofcarbon dioxide equivalent, greenhouse gases that would have otherwise resulted from the
burning of fossil fuels in thermal power stations.[14]
In 2013, the IAEA reported that there are 437 operational civil fission-electric
reactors[15] in31 countries,[16] although not every reactor is producing electricity.[17] In addition, there
are approximately 140 naval vessels using nuclear propulsion in operation, powered by some
180 reactors.[18][19][20] As of 2013, attaining a net energy gain from sustained nuclear
fusionreactions, excluding natural fusion power sources such as the Sun, remains an ongoing
area of international physics and engineering research. With commercial fusion power production
remaining unlikely before 2050.[21]
In 2015, the IAEA report that worldwide there were 67 civil fission-electric power reactors under
construction in 15 countries including Gulf states such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE).[15]Over
half of the 67 total being built are in Asia, with 28 in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), with
the most recently completed fission-electric reactor to be connected to the electrical grid, as of
August 2015, occurring in Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant in the Republic of Korea.[22] Five other
new grid connections were completed by the PRC so far this year.[23] In the USA, four
newGeneration III reactors are under construction at Vogtle and Summer station, while a fifth is
nearing completion at Watts Bar station, all five are expected to enter service before 2020. [24] In
2013, four aging uncompetitive U.S reactors were closed.[25][26]
There is a social debate about nuclear power.[27][28][29] Proponents, such as the World Nuclear
Association and Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy, contend that nuclear power is a
safe,sustainable energy source that reduces carbon emissions.[30] Opponents, such
as Greenpeace International and NIRS, contend that nuclear power poses many threats
to people and the environment.[31][32][33]
Far reaching fission power reactor accidents, or accidents that resulted in medium to longlivedfission product contamination of inhabited areas, have occurred in Generation I & II
reactordesigns, blueprinted between 1950 and 1980. These include the Chernobyl disaster which

occurred in 1986, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (2011), and the more contained Three
Mile Island accident (1979).[34] There have also been some nuclear submarine accidents.[34][35][36]In
terms of lives lost per unit of energy generated, analysis has determined that fission-electric
reactors have caused less fatalities per unit of energy generated than the other major sources of
energy generation. Energy production from coal, petroleum, natural gas and hydroelectricity has
caused a greater number of fatalities per unit of energy generated due to air pollution and energy
accident effects.[37][38][39][40][41] However, the economic costs of nuclear power accidents is high, and
meltdowns can render areas uninhabitable for very long periods. The human costs of
evacuations of affected populations and lost livelihoods is also significant. [42][43][better source needed]
Japan's 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, which occurred in a reactor design from
the1960s, prompted a re-examination of nuclear safety and nuclear energy policy in many
countries.[44]Germany plans to close all its reactors by 2022, and Italy has re-affirmed its ban on
electric utilities generating, but not importing, fission derived electricity.[44] In 2011 the International
Energy Agencyhalved its prior estimate of new generating capacity to be built by 2035. [45][46] In
2013 Japan signed a deal worth $22 billion, in which Mitsubishi Heavy Industries would build four
modern Atmeareactors for Turkey.[47] In August 2015, following 4 years of near zero fissionelectricity generation, Japan began restarting its fission fleet, after safety upgrades were
completed, beginning with Sendai fission-electric station.[48]
Contents
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1 Use
1.1 Use in space

2 History
o

2.1 Origins

2.2 Early years

2.3 Development

3 Nuclear power plant

4 Life cycle
4.1 Conventional fuel resources

4.1.1 Breeding
4.2 Solid waste

4.2.1 High-level radioactive waste

4.2.2 Low-level radioactive waste

4.2.3 Comparing radioactive waste to industrial toxic waste

4.2.4 Waste disposal

4.3 Reprocessing

4.3.1 Depleted uranium

5 Economics

6 Accidents and safety, the human and financial costs

7 Nuclear proliferation

8 Environmental issues
o

8.1 Climate change

9 Nuclear decommissioning

10 Debate on nuclear power

11 Comparison with renewable energy

12 Nuclear renaissance

13 Future of the industry

o

13.1 Nuclear phase out

13.2 Advanced concepts

13.3 Hybrid nuclear fusion-fission

13.4 Nuclear fusion

14 Nuclear power organizations

o

14.1 Proponents

14.2 Opponents

15 See also

16 References

17 Further reading

18 External links