Nuclear’s Necessity For Sustainable Power Grids

January 24, 2022

Jon Pineau

Intro

Our world is progressing through a vast energy revolution. Our global energy needs are higher than ever and its necessary these energy needs must be sustainable by limiting the amount of carbon dioxide emitted. Low carbon energy production is essential to lessen the impacts of climate change and public health issues. The advancements of solar and wind renewables make fully carbon-free energy production possible. However, there are limitations to where and when these sources work effectively and consistently. Consistent environmental conditions are ideal for solar and wind power production in order to maintain an electrical grid’s power balance.

Mixing solar and wind power with hydroelectric power fulfills the base load for an electrical grid’s electrical grid power balance. In Niagara Falls, Ontario, when there is a power surplus, wind and solar power pumps water into the Niagara reservoirs that feed to the hydroelectric plant. When solar and wind power drops, the reservoirs are drained to the hydroelectric plant to maintain the power balance for the electrical grid (link). The reservoirs act like a battery for the electrical grid. Although wind and solar, with hydropower combination, is effective and environmentally friendly, but hydropower plants are limited to where they can be built. For areas where hydroelectric is unfeasible, nuclear energy must provide a reliable low-carbon electrical grid.

EU's Clash over Green Energy

The European Union is debating which forms of energy are considered environmentally friendly. Nuclear is one of the forms facing scrutiny amongst EU members. Germany, Austria, and Luxembourg believe nuclear energy should not be classified, while France and Finland believe nuclear energy should be classified as environmentally friendly.Germany plans to shut its three remaining nuclear reactors by 2022 ^[1]. Germany’s concerns over nuclear energy are its potential repeat disasters like Chernobyl and Fukushima. These disasters were deadly to Ukraine, and Japan. However, the flawed Chernobyl reactor design was never used outside of the Soviet Union (citation), and Fukushima which occurred due to a massive tsunami. This natural disaster does not occur in Europe

To fulfill the loss of closing multiple nuclear power plants, Germany has built up its wind and solar reserves at an astonishing rate. However, Germany still relies on fossil fuels for their base load, especially coal. Germany uses lignite, which is the “most polluting and health harming type of coal”. Germany plans to stop burning coal by 2038 long after the 2030 deadline for EU members.

To sum up Germany’s future energy plans they are to shut down its low carbon nuclear energy programs now and keep the most polluting and dangerous form of energy lignite coal active for the next 16 years.

France Vs. Germany

France produces 70% of its electricity using nuclear energy to ensure its energy security ^[2]. France is also building up its solar and wind production but is not cutting off nuclear energy. Comparing Germany and France’s CO2 per capita gives a good assessment of each country’s environmental impact. In 2019 France’s C02 per capita was 4.85 tonnes while Germany’s was 8.52 tonnes per capita ^[2]. Both nations are heavily industrialized, have similar transportation methods, but vastly differ with their electrical production. In France, 90.5% of its electricity is from low carbon sources, including wind, solar, hydroelectric, and nuclear ^[7]. While Germany only achieves 52.5% ^[7]. It’s clear France’s energy strategy is superior by being more sustainable than Germany’s.

Nuclear Future

One major downside to nuclear energy is its lengthy construction process for a power plant. According to the IAEA/PRIS, the average construction time for a reactor is 7.5 years^[5]. The long process of construction timeline lowers the viability of nuclear power to prospecting nations. Canada is developing the Canadian Small Modular Reactor (SMR) to speed up the process.

SMR Vs Traditional Reactors

Smaller: Smaller scale and power output allows the reactors to be used in more places

Modular: Factory production will vastly shorten construction time and make the reactor size scalable. Mass production of reactors

Reactors: Nuclear fission will provide electricity, heating, and water desalination. The smaller scale allows these opportunities to be more practical alternatives.

From https://smrroadmap.ca/^[4]

The SMR reactor will revolutionize the energy sector’s future. The SMR is considered a “Blue Ocean” product as it cuts costs to produce the reactor from its mass production. The SMR is also differentiated as its smaller scale allows alternative uses other than electricity production as water desalination. With nuclear energy’s low carbon footprint along with the SMR’s availability to purify our world’s diminishing freshwater resources.

Nuclear Waste Storage

Nuclear waste is a major issue with nuclear energy. Although nuclear power is considered low carbon energy, it is not waste-free. Uranium used in the reactors is highly radioactive and toxic to all life forms. If humans receive a high dose of radiation, their cancer risk is highly increased ^[11]. Risks from nuclear waste leaks are another barrier for nations adopting nuclear energy. However, in Finland, they created a solution for storing nuclear waste.

The nuclear waste at the Olkiluoto will be stored deep underground in the Finnish bedrock. The Onkalo site will store spent nuclear fuel for the next 100 years ^[6]. The Finnish Onkalo site is a long-term solution to the nuclear waste problem, which places the spent uranium deep underground in similar places where radioactive uranium is naturally placed. Although construction for a deep underground storage site is a long process its benefits from its long-term use and safe storage solve many of the issues with storing nuclear waste.

Summary

The incredible energy potential and low carbon emissions make nuclear energy a valuable source for energy production. The advancements in small modular reactors and waste storage improve the utility for nuclear energy. To create a sustainable future, countries should not abandon their nuclear energy programs and continue to adapt them to fulfill their electrical grids’ base load requirements.