![]() "There's no shortage of uranium that might constrain future commitments to build new nuclear plants for much of the century," Forsberg said. report predicts that even if the world's fleet of more than 400 nuclear power plants grew to be 4,000 such plants that then operated for a century, the cost of the electricity from those facilities would rise by a mere 1 percent as a result of the increased demand for uranium. Therefore, even if uranium prices doubled or more, the impact on electricity prices would be minimal. All this uranium represents as little as 2 percent of the final cost of the electricity from that nuclear power plant. needs 200 metric tons of mined uranium resulting in 20 metric tons of uranium fuel per year. nuclear engineer Charles Forsberg, another co-chair of the report, noted that a typical light-water reactor in the U.S. employs 104 light-water reactors to generate 20 percent of its electricity today the reactors moderate uranium fission and the heat it produces with water, which is also boiled into steam to turn an electricity-generating turbine. "Light-water reactors are the workhorse, and there's a lot we can do to improve. physicist and report co-chair Ernest Moniz at its release on September 16 in Washington, D.C. the once-through fuel cycle using light-water reactors is the preferred option," said M.I.T. "For the next several decades in the U.S. Finally, the global expansion of nuclear power plants should be enabled by some form of leasing program for the uranium fuel rods-one up for renewal every decade or so. The funds could also be used to create a $670-million-per-year research and development program for nuclear power as well as to determine the best fuel cycle over the course of the next several decades. Therefore, either reprocessing or recycling spent nuclear fuel, as the French and Japanese do, is likely to be a waste of money better spent on improving the light-water reactors presently in use. ![]() alone builds as many as 1,000 nuclear reactors. In short, the report finds that uranium resources are not likely to run out in the next century, even if the U.S. electricity supply, a group of scientists, engineers and other experts assembled by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) released a report on the nuclear fuel cycle paid for by the nuclear industry. Nuclear Regulatory Commission affirmed its expert opinion that spent nuclear fuel could be safely stored on nuclear power plant grounds-whether in pools or dry casks-for "at least 60 years beyond the licensed life of any reactor." That is good news, because there is nowhere else for such waste to go.Īs President Obama's Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future continues to ponder what role nuclear power might play in the U.S.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |