Nuclear Energy

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But there is a problem even with this estimate. Fossil fuels are burnt for various uses, of which generating electricity is only one (though it is the largest). Nuclear power can replace fossil fuels only in large scale electricity generation, and not in its other uses, like in the transportation sector. Worldwide, use of fossil fuels for electricity and heating contributes to only 25% of the total greenhouse gas emissions. cclxv Nuclear power can only marginally replace use of fossil fuels in heating supply systems. Therefore, replacing burning of fossil fuels with nuclear energy only reduces a very small percentage of the total greenhouse emissions. (And that too, assuming that the nuclear energy is generated using high grade uranium ore.) By how much? The IEA has made an estimate. IEA estimates The Energy Scenario produced by the International Energy Agency cclxvi estimates that, even if existing world nuclear power capacity could be quadrupled by 2050, its share of world energy consumption would still be below 10%. What is more significant for our present discussion, even such a massive expansion would help reduce CO2 emissions by only 4 percent! cclxvii (We are actually not sure of this estimated reduction too, as we do not know whether in calculating this figure, IEA took into consideration the carbon emissions in the entire nuclear fuel cycle. But let us ignore this for the present.) That is a very small reduction. The crisis of global warming is very acute, and to tackle it, what the world needs is not marginally reduced emissions, but deep cuts in them – 40 percent by 2020 and 95 percent by 2050. cclxviii Obviously, nuclear power cannot significantly contribute to bringing about these reductions. On the other hand, implementation of this scenario would require construction of 32 new 1000 MW reactors every year from now until 2050. To put this into perspective, in the 1980s – the decade of the nuclear industry’s fastest growth – the industry built an equivalent of 17 large reactors a year. Investment costs for 1,400 new reactors needed would exceed $10 trillion at current prices. cclxix That is simply mind-boggling! Given the huge subsidies needed to build just one reactor, this would bankrupt even the richest countries!! What about renewable sources of energy? The above discussion compared carbon dioxide emissions from the nuclear fuel cycle with that from gas and coal fired power plants. The entire nuclear lobby focuses on this comparison to make an argument for building nuclear power plants, and not only that, demanding huge subsidies for nuclear energy. But there is another side to the whole debate, which the nuclear lobby very conveniently forgets: renewable energy emits even less greenhouse gases than nuclear plants. In comparison to renewable energy sources, power generated from nuclear reactors releases four to five times more CO2 per unit of energy produced, when taking into account the entire nuclear fuel cycle. cclxx Therefore, if the growing crisis of global warming is an argument in support of promoting 72
nuclear energy as compared to electricity from burning fossil fuels, by this same logic, renewable energy should be supported as compared to nuclear energy. But the advocates of nuclear energy conveniently overlook renewable energy in their passionate arguments about promoting green alternatives to electricity from fossil fuels. We discuss this alternative in detail in Chapter 10. Not only does nuclear energy create a significant amount of greenhouse gases, and is on trajectory to produce as much as conventional sources of energy within the next one or two decades, it in fact undermines the real solutions to climate change by diverting urgently needed investments away from clean, renewable sources of energy and energy efficiency. Olkiluoto-3 (OL3) has had a disastrous impact on Finland’s renewable energy industry. Prior to the decision to build the new reactor, the Finnish renewable energy industry was thriving. Today, the renewable market has stagnated as 85% of planned investments in new power generation between 2006 and 2010 have been eaten up by OL3. Leading international business advisors, Ernst & Young have ranked Finland as the third least-attractive among 25 countries for investments in renewable energy. cclxxi 73
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NUCLEAR ENERGY Technology From Hell
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Introduction Part I: Government Pla
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yet to find solution to the problem
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Mithivirdi: A powerful movement of
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eing proposed to be set up in the c
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nuclear power plant accident, in ou
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was subsequently endorsed by the he
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Atoms are so small that they can’
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called enriched uranium. [Note that
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of a nuclear power reactor. A typic
Page 21 and 22: Coolant: A liquid or gas circulatin
Page 23 and 24: Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor Hea
Page 25 and 26: Is Nuclear Energy Safe? Chapter 3 A
Page 27 and 28: iii. Gamma radiation: This is akin
Page 29 and 30: haematopoietic system). Radiation c
Page 31 and 32: Part III: Radiation Emission in Nuc
Page 33 and 34: The radioactivity from the tailing
Page 35 and 36: power plant contains an amount of l
Page 37 and 38: Tritium is a particularly scary mat
Page 39 and 40: Plutonium cxi Named after Pluto, th
Page 41 and 42: Firstly, reprocessing does not redu
Page 43 and 44: sports and fishing were also banned
Page 45 and 46: detail the impact of these 'once th
Page 47 and 48: We today know for a fact that the n
Page 49 and 50: Till 2005, there were at least 10,0
Page 51 and 52: The report mentions 16 “events”
Page 53 and 54: In an article published in The Nati
Page 55 and 56: Even asssuming that there will not
Page 57 and 58: fossil fuels. It has now come up wi
Page 59 and 60: Opinion of Credit Ratings Agencies
Page 61 and 62: it acknowledged that the expected c
Page 63 and 64: plant owners to use much more of th
Page 65 and 66: was the Vice-President of the USA):
Page 67 and 68: 6. Blithely Ignoring Health Costs S
Page 69 and 70: Is Nuclear Power Green? Chapter 5 S
Page 71: Energy Balance attempts to make an
Page 75 and 76: Table 1: Estimates of Total and Nuc
Page 77 and 78: � At the end of 2009, there were
Page 79 and 80: Therefore, despite all the optimism
Page 81 and 82: 1. Reviewing the Nuclear Renaissanc
Page 83 and 84: certification also runs out in 2012
Page 85 and 86: nuclear phase-out plans which are n
Page 87 and 88: lower house (Bundestag) to pass a b
Page 89 and 90: UK and French nuclear safety author
Page 91 and 92: The second and more important reaso
Page 93 and 94: eactor or two, but considering that
Page 95 and 96: Pre-Independence Period India’s N
Page 97 and 98: Secretary to the DAE. The 1958 Reso
Page 99 and 100: The reality has been quite differen
Page 101 and 102: Narora Uttar Pradesh PHWR 220 x 2 4
Page 103 and 104: Background Part III: US-India Agree
Page 105 and 106: 2. New Reactors Even before the Ind
Page 107 and 108: clearance, indicative of the fact t
Page 109 and 110: producing electricity from these re
Page 111 and 112: matters of negotiations”. cdxliii
Page 113 and 114: arm of Indian big industry, had ext
Page 115 and 116: India’s Nuclear Installations: Sa
Page 117 and 118: extremely sensitive material used i
Page 119 and 120: area due to uranium mining. cdlxxxi
Page 121 and 122: women complained of fatigue, weakne
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India: World’s most unsafe, most
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the AEC has not instituted an award
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The biggest deficiency in the Rajas
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The bed of the Thane creek, which i
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Fires have also occurred repeatedly
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workers are exposed to radiation, a
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can't catch anything else, and ther
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up in 1971 at Kalpakkam to lead the
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Tulsunde (population 800), Janshipa
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are going to be correspondingly hig
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governing the computers and systems
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guidelines.” It’s unbelievable
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The Sustainable Alternative to Nucl
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especially bad in the rural areas,
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of the human body. In particular, t
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While the costs of large dams are h
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Demand Side Management Potential to
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such absolutely non-essential uses?
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The US has the highest installed wi
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Solar water heaters are a very simp
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Renewable Energies: Poised for a Le
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(iii) Small Hydro Power The governm
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Indian villages are spread over wid
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Energy about the huge potential of
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anticipating a change in NSG rules,
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� Privatise the public sector, in
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countries - recycling rubbish in th
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inflows of foreign capital (also kn
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analyse. We must develop our politi
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xxvii I. Semendeferi, “Legitimati
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lxxxvii Ali al-Fadhily and Dahr Jam
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cliii The IAEA maintains an interna
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cciv Mycle Schneider, et al., “Th
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cclxxi “Nuclear power: a dangerou
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cccxxxv “The postponement of the
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cdi “Uranium imports boost Indian
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cdlxix Dhirendra Sharma, India’s
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dxxxviii “Nuclear power in India
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dxciii M. V. Ramana, ibid. dxciv Mu
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dclix Union of Concerned Scientists
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