'Nuclear More Reliable for Energy than Oil and Gas'

That's according to the Nuclear Energy Agency's latest Nuclear Energy Outlook study. Here's a summary (pdf):

The security of energy supply from nuclear power is more reliable than that for oil or gas, according to the authors of the first ‘Nuclear Energy Outlook’ launched today by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA).

Additionally, uranium’s high energy density means that transport is less vulnerable to disruption, and storing a large energy reserve is easier than for fossil fuels, says the publication. It adds that one tonne of uranium produces the same energy as 10,000 to 16,000 tonnes of oil using current technology. Technological developments are likely to improve that performance even more.

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According to one scenario in Nuclear Energy Outlook, existing nuclear power technologies could provide more than a fifth of global electricity by 2050 as demand for power rises in countries such as China and India. Under this scenario, 1,400 reactors of the size commonly in use today would be in operation by 2050, providing four times the current supply of nuclear-generated electricity.

Comments

Anonymous said…

The math does not seem to work. Take 24 hr/day times 520 days times 1150 MW is only 14.8 MWHours. How does that work?

October 18, 2008 at 12:20 AM

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NEI Nuclear Notes

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