Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
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Figure 8.1
Number of operating reactors by age. (European Nuclear Society, 2009)
Note:
Reactor
age is determined by its fi rst grid connection.
megawatts. In the European Union, 30 percent of the electricity is
generated by nuclear power.
Once completed, a reactor will supply electricity for approximately
forty years. Most of today's reactors are at least twenty-fi ve years old
(fi gure 8.1). For nuclear power to play a signifi cant role in satisfying
future energy needs, countries must build new reactors to replace those
ending their service life and expand signifi cantly the number of commer-
cial reactors in service.
Is Nuclear Energy Renewable?
Nuclear energy is an alternative energy source that in principle could
help relieve America's dependence on highly polluting fossil fuels. Nuclear
fuel occurs as an element (uranium) in a mineral mined from rocks and
is therefore not renewable. But it is suffi ciently abundant that neither the
United States nor the rest of the world will run out of uranium during
the twenty-fi rst century regardless of how many new nuclear power
plants may be built.
How Much Does Nuclear Energy Cost?
Operation and maintenance costs in a nuclear plant are 74 percent of
the cost of the electricity generated; the fuel itself is only 26 percent.
