Advantages of Nuclear Power
Nuclear power has several unique advantages over other mainstream power-generation technologies.
Nuclear energy is an extremely concentrated form of energy and hence the fuel required in a nuclear power plant is very small indeed. And because the fuel used is extremely small in quantity, the waste produced init is equally negligible. While other industries, including power utilities using coal or natural gas, dump their massive amounts of waste products into the atmosphere, nuclear industry, on the other hand, responsibly manages its extremely little waste generated, storing it safely and securely at site without polluting the environment.
As a matter of fact, the waste generated in it is not really a waste at all, but can actually be used as ‘fuel’ for the next stage. It requires very small area of land – an area not more than what a small housing colony would typically occupy. Compared to this, other energy-generation technologies, especially renewable sources like solar or wind, occupy enormous areas of land – typically several hundred times more than a nuclear power plant. Also, hydroelectricity (water dams) submerges vast areas, causing loss of valuable productive and fertile land as well as natural forests.
Nuclear power is a sustainable source of energy, as it has the potential to serve mankind for hundreds or even thousands of years – that is, long after all the fossil fuels are gone. Cost-wise also, nuclear provides electricity at economical rates, comparable to other mainstream technologies,whereas wind and solar are comparatively far more costly.Itproduces electricity reliably on ‘24×7’ basis and supplies base-load power to the grid, whereas solar power is not available on cloudy days and during nighttime, while wind turbines need constant wind or at least strong breeze, which is not available all the time.
The world today faces the challenge of producing electrical power and using energy in ways that do not harm the environment. The first and foremost advantage of nuclear power is that it is a clean, pollution-free source of power.
As you must all is aware that greenhouse gases cause warming of the earth’s atmosphere and this warming is primarily responsible for the phenomenon of climate change. The biggest threat to the stability of global climate is indeed posed by human activities – especially the enormous amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas released into the environment. Carbon dioxide is produced by the combustion of fossil fuels (which are carbon-based fuels) like petroleum, coal, natural gas, etc. The advantage of nuclear energy is that the power produced in it does not use any carbon-based fuel, and thus in nuclear power generation, there is no emission of CO2.
Electricity generation through nuclear power route has yet another advantage, as nuclear power plants do not emit ozone-depleting substances like methane, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), nitrous oxides, etc. It also do not contribute to acid rains, as they do not emit toxic and corrosive gases like sulfur dioxide (SO2) or oxides of nitrogen (NOx).Considering all these advantages, it is the best option for all of us.
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