Not too long ago, we reviewed a report that looked at nuclear energy (and other energy sources) as biodiversity agents. This had to do, in part, with the amount of land a facility needs to function. Nuclear energy and fossil fuel plants use relatively little, wind farms and solar arrays quite a lot of land . Based on an objective and transparent analysis of our sustainable energy choices, we have come to the evidence-based conclusion that nuclear energy is a good option for biodiversity conservation (and society in general) and that other alternatives to fossil fuels should be subjected to the same cost–benefit analyses (in terms of biodiversity and climate outcomes, as well as sociopolitical imperatives) before accepting or dismissing them. Writer Barry Brook, who collected 75 scientists to endorse his paper, is interested in land use as it impacts flora and fauna. Biodiversity concerns do not get as much play as they might – and, when they do, it annoys many when land is withdraw...
In the middle of the D segment on CNN's Late Edition, we find this interesting exchange between Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA):
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If electric heat is made the less expensive option, not only will that lessen dependence on oil, but would free natural gas for transportation use.
This is just one example of how nuclear power can replace oil.
If we had high-temperature reactors like LFTR or PBMR that could produce synthetic hydrocarbons fuels from thermochemical hydrogen, that would be one thing. But LWRs aren't displacing much petroleum. Some, but not much.
The diesel generators could be replaced by a small nuclear power plant. If this were a cheaper option I'm sure shipping lines would look closely at it. Any reactor for commercial shipping would need either online refueling, a long core life, or rapid refueling that fits the drydocking schedule of commercial shipping. To make the investment in such technology, shipping lines would also need a stable regulatory environment and the ability to call at all ports that they currently service.
None of this is impossible, but until the price of fuel oil gets so high that it becomes an economic necessity to change, change probably won't happen. If change does happen, it will probably come rapidly.
In fact, nuclear power is being proposed to expand oil production and export from Saudi Arabia and the tar sands of Alberta, Canada.