Nuclear power update
By Dr. Jay Lehr |September 21st, 2021|Energy|7 Comments
When we talk nuclear physics to most people their eyes will glaze over with either lack of understanding or fear of the unknown. In fact it is quite simple. Uranium, its most common fuel, is radioactive, which means it naturally decays or fissions. This is the process of splitting atoms which releases heat that can turn water into steam to turn a turbine to create electricity.
Nuclear’s land footprint is small, only a tiny fraction of the land required to gain energy from wind or sun. A typical 1000 megawatt nuclear power plant requires less than a square mile (640 acres) to operate. To produce that amount of power from wind you need 1000, 2.5 megawatt wind turbines operating at their maximum efficiency of 30% which will require 350 square miles. To gain that from the sun you need 3 million solar panels spread across 175 square miles of land.
The truth about nuclear power is that it provides a viable and safe means for satisfying the world’s growing need for electricity. While the US is truly awash in oil and gas and coal as well, the rest of the world is not so lucky. Fortunately outside of the US there is renewed interest in building nuclear power plants.
https://www.cfact.org/2021/09/21/nuclear-power-update/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=nuclear-power-update
