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Nuclear Power Reconsidered

After decades of failure in our attempts to slow the rising global consumption of coal, oil and gas, influential public figures, including Bill Gates and Elon Musk, have concluded that the world needs to reconsider nuclear power as a means to end the burning of fossil fuels. Wind and solar power alone, without a breakthrough in storage technology for these intermittent sources, are unlikely to meet the world's needs for reliable energy. See Figures 1 and 2 on the magnitude of the world energy challenge.

Nuclear power could provide the abundant, zero-carbon, dispatchable energy needed for a low-carbon future, but not by simply building more of what we already have. New innovative designs for nuclear reactors are needed to avoid the problems of the past.

(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.