Pros And Cons Of Nuclear Reactors

Nuclear reactors are a major source of power generation in the United States. They produce about 20% of all the United States’ electrical power annually (National Energy Institute, 2014, July) and 13% of the world’s energy (World Nuclear Association, 2015, January). Despite this large chunk of our electricity, most people do not know much about them. According to a survey by Yale University, only 47% of Americans supported building new nuclear power plants in 2011. In the same study they found that most people think of the word “disaster” in association to nuclear power. The reality is that nuclear power plant are not overly complex.

There are really only a few component in a common nuclear power reactor: moderator, fuel, control rods, coolant,

Control rods can be made out of several different substances, typically one that absorbs neutrons. In the core of the reactor Uranium-238 is commonly used as fuel. The majority of nuclear reactors use fission of the Uranium atom as the heat source. Fission occurs when a neutron is emitted at another atom. To begin fission, an alpha emitter (an element that emits neutrons) is placed in proximity to a fissile substance (an element capable of fission). The fission of Uranium causes a chain reaction because it emits neutrons of its own in the process, therefore it is good fuel for a nuclear power plant. The pressure vessel contains the core and coolant and moderator. Instead of a large rigid body, sometimes tubes are used as the pressure vessel for the coolant. The steam generator is where the coolant that is taking heat from the core heats the steam to turn the turbine. The turbine will then generate electricity. There are two types of nuclear reactors common in the U.S., boiling water reactors and pressurized water reactors. In the United States there are 65 pressurized water reactors and

Nuclear power plants operate at about 91% capacity, compared to natural gas at 50.3% capacity, coal at 58.9% capacity, and wind at 32.2% capacity (Nuclear Energy Institute, July 2014). The capacity efficiency value is calculated as the actual energy output divided by the theoretical energy output. Using Uranium as fuel is better than using coal as fuel. One fuel pellet of Uranium is equal in energy to one ton of coal (Nuclear Energy Institute, 2014 July). Nuclear energy is a clean-air energy, which means that it doesn’t produce any greenhouse gases. Natural gas power plants emit 1136.8 lbs/MWh of greenhouse gases, coal power plants emit 2268 lbs/MWh, and oil emits 1688 lbs/MWh (Environmental Protection Agency, 2014 May 22). This means that on top of being fuel efficient, nuclear power is better for the environment, too. Nuclear energy is also one of the cheapest ways to create electricity. It costs an average of 1.51 cents/kWh to produce nuclear power (Nuclear Energy Institute, 2013). In the United States, nuclear energy is currently the safest method of energy production. According to the Washington Times, “nobody in America has ever died owing to a commercial nuclear-power accident. But from Jan. 1, 2003 through Dec. 31, 2007, 526 workers were killed in oil and gas extraction and 162 in coal mining” (The Washington Times, 2009 January 29). Given all of these benefits and