User:David MacQuigg/Sandbox/drafts

Nuclear Power Reconsidered

After decades of failure to slow the rising global consumption of coal, oil and gas, influential public figures including Bill Gates and Elon Musk have stated that the world needs to have nuclear power reconsidered. Newer, innovative designs for nuclear reactors could provide the low-carbon, reliable, dispatchable energy needed for a zero-carbon future. Wind and solar alone cannot meet the world's needs for carbon-free energy without a breakthrough in technology to store energy from these intermittent sources. See Figures 1 and 2 on the magnitude of the world energy challenge.

(CC) Image: Geoff Russell
Fig.1 Electricity consumption may soon double, mostly from coal-fired power plants in the developing world.

© Image: Lawrence Livermore Lab
Fig.2 Electricity is only one third of the CO2 problem. Other big needs include low-cost high-temperature process heat for industry and fuels for the transportation sector.

electricity to the grid regardless of weather.

, and while nuclear fuel is not renewable, nuclear power generation produces little air pollution as compared with coal, oil or gas. Demand for electricity is high and still increasing, and wind and solar generators will not be able to meet the demand. Meeting the world's needs for reliable carbon-free electricity generation could require thousands of nuclear plants, or perhaps a breakthrough in technology to store energy from wind and solar. See Figs. 1 and 2 on the magnitude of the world energy challenge.