Nuclear Energy - an introduction

Nuclear energy is arguably the unloved child of sustainable energy, little public attention or recognition is given - until something goes wrong!

This blog is going to examine the pros and cons of nuclear energy and the possibility for it to become a central energy source in the coming years – or whether stigma and negative public perception will hinder wider expansions.

The potential is vastly contentious, with conflicts and debates paramount throughout public opinion and academic literature. Advocates point towards the high energy, the low costs and the zero carbon production of the source. In contrast, the opposition put forward arguments of high waste production, catastrophic risks as well as the growing fear of nuclear weaponry (MIT 2003).

I am currently "sat on the fence", it is clear that change needs to be made, with a fossil fuel dominated global society contributing to detrimental climate change - with 2013 providing the record CO2 emissions of 36Gt (Maitland 2014). However, I also cannot detach myself from the evidence of disasters and catastrophes such as Chernobyl and more recently the Fukushima incident. Arguably the risks are too high to be taken – especially with safer renewable alternatives available!

 Nuclear energy is not simply a future prospect, with present day contributions reaching 11% of global electricity. The energy is generated from in excess of 435 reactors - with a total of 375,000 MWe produced (World Nuclear Association 2015). France in particular is seen to generate nearly ¾ of all energy from nuclear (World Nuclear Association 2015), displaying such sources to have a clear potential of providing for high consuming, developed nations.

New plants are still emerging with 72 reactors under construction, 174 planned and 299 reactors proposed on a global scale, as of August 2015 (Taebi 2015). Clearly the energy sector and governments have been relatively undeterred by catastrophic disasters of the past. One particularly contentious reactor under construction is Hinkley Point C in Somerset, which is proposed to produce 3,200 megawatts of electricity, which would provide for roughly 6 million homes in the UK (Department of Energy and Climate Change 2014). Further information on this current debate will be provided in later weeks.

Alternative energy has had a consistent presence throughout my Geography education - however I have found that nuclear has often been left out. I have been shown the Utopian ideals of wind, hydro and solar, yet my experience of nuclear energy has mainly been provided by apocalyptic, media hyperboles or Homer Simpson causing power plant meltdowns! This blog will give me the opportunity to delve into the facts and reality of nuclear energy and to decipher whether it truly is a viable, long term option to replace the dependency on fossil fuels.

I am hoping that as my blog progresses, my knowledge of the sector and the arguments involved will increase  - allowing the formulation of a properly informed opinion.

Please vote on the poll at the bottom of the page, as I would like to see what the common opinion is in regard to nuclear. 

The video below gives a taster as to the arguments that I will be exploring within the coming weeks: