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Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery to end users or its storage.
Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by nuclear fission of uranium and plutonium in nuclear power plants. Nuclear decay processes are used in niche applications such as radioisotope thermoelectric generators in some space probes such as Voyager 2. Generating electricity from fusion power remains the focus of international research.
The Diablo Canyon Power Plant is a nuclear power plant near Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County, California. Since the permanent shutdown of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in 2013, Diablo Canyon has been the only operational nuclear plant and largest single power station in California. It was the subject of controversy and protests during its construction, with nearly two thousand civil disobedience arrests in a two-week period in 1981.
Nuclear energy policy is a national and international policy concerning some or all aspects of nuclear energy and the nuclear fuel cycle, such as uranium mining, ore concentration, conversion, enrichment for nuclear fuel, generating electricity by nuclear power, storing and reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, and disposal of radioactive waste. Nuclear energy policies often include the regulation of energy use and standards relating to the nuclear fuel cycle. Other measures include efficiency standards, safety regulations, emission standards, fiscal policies, and legislation on energy trading, transport of nuclear waste and contaminated materials, and their storage. Governments might subsidize nuclear energy and arrange international treaties and trade agreements about the import and export of nuclear technology, electricity, nuclear waste, and uranium.
Nuclear power in the United States is provided by 92 commercial reactors with a net capacity of 94.7 gigawatts (GW), with 61 pressurized water reactors and 31 boiling water reactors. In 2019, they produced a total of 809.41 terawatt-hours of electricity, which accounted for 20% of the nation's total electric energy generation. In 2018, nuclear comprised nearly 50 percent of US emission-free energy generation.
Energy independence is independence or autarky regarding energy resources, energy supply and/or energy generation by the energy industry.
Nuclear power construction costs have varied significantly across the world and in time. Large and rapid increases in cost occurred during the 1970s, especially in the United States. Recent cost trends in countries such as Japan and Korea have been very different, including periods of stability and decline in costs.
Fossil fuel phase-out is the gradual reduction of the use and production of fossil fuels to zero, to reduce deaths and illness from air pollution, limit climate change, and to strengthen energy independence. It is part of the ongoing renewable energy transition.
Low-carbon power is electricity produced with substantially lower greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fossil fuel power generation. The energy transition to low-carbon power is one of the most important actions required to limit climate change. Power sector emissions may have peaked in 2018. During the first six months of 2020, scientists observed an 8.8% decrease in global CO2 emissions relative to 2019 due to COVID-19 lockdown measures. The two main sources of the decrease in emissions included ground transportation (40%) and the power sector (22%). This event is the largest absolute decrease in CO2 emissions in history, but emphasizes that low-carbon power "must be based on structural and transformational changes in energy-production systems".
The nuclear power debate is a long-running controversy about the risks and benefits of using nuclear reactors to generate electricity for civilian purposes. The debate about nuclear power peaked during the 1970s and 1980s, as more and more reactors were built and came online, and "reached an intensity unprecedented in the history of technology controversies" in some countries. Thereafter, the nuclear industry created jobs, focused on safety, and public concerns mostly waned.
Between 2007 and 2009, 13 companies applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for construction and operating licenses to build 31 new nuclear power reactors in the United States. However, the case for widespread nuclear plant construction has been hampered due to inexpensive natural gas, slow electricity demand growth in a weak US economy, lack of financing, and safety concerns following the Fukushima nuclear disaster at a plant built in the early 1970s which occured in 2011.
Since about 2001 the term nuclear renaissance has been used to refer to a possible nuclear power industry revival, driven by rising fossil fuel prices and new concerns about meeting greenhouse gas emission limits.
Small modular reactors (SMRs) are a proposed class of nuclear fission reactors, smaller than conventional nuclear reactors, which can be built in one location, then shipped, commissioned, and operated at a separate site. The term SMR refers to the size, capacity and modular construction only, not to the reactor type and the nuclear process which is applied. Designs range from scaled down versions of existing designs to generation IV designs. Both thermal-neutron reactors and fast-neutron reactors have been proposed, along with molten salt and gas cooled reactor models.
Poland currently operates a single research reactor, Maria. It has no operational nuclear reactors for power production, but is to start construction of a plant with three Westinghouse AP1000 reactors in 2026, and is also intending to build small modular reactors.
The Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant is the only large nuclear power plant in Turkey and is under construction at Akkuyu, in Büyükeceli, Mersin Province. It is expected to generate around 10% of the country's electricity when completed.
This is a history of nuclear power.
Titans of Nuclear is an interview podcast developed by the Energy Impact Center. Each episode features interviews led by Bret Kugelmass. Other hosts include Jadwiga Najder, Olubunmi Olajide, and Naomi Senehi. Guests generally include nuclear energy experts who come from various political, scientific, and business backgrounds. The one-on-one discussions typically revolve around nuclear energy and related topics including political policy, climate change, and nuclear medicine.
The Energy Impact Center is an American research institute based in Washington, D.C. It primarily advocates for the expansion of nuclear power as a clean energy solution to climate change. The organization's research into nuclear power has led it to the development of projects like OPEN100, an open-source platform with blueprints for nuclear power plant design and construction. In 2020, the center spun out Last Energy, a commercial developer aimed at linking investors with agencies looking to build nuclear plants. The center is also responsible for the podcasts, Titans of Nuclear and Energy Impact. It was founded in 2017 by Bret Kugelmass.
Last Energy is an American commercial developer of nuclear power plants, established in 2020 by Bret Kugelmass, who is also the founder of the Energy Impact Center, an American research institute.
References
- 1 2 Proctor, Darrell (February 25, 2020). "Tech Guru's Plan—Fight Climate Change with Nuclear Power". Power Magazine. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
- ↑ Dormehl, Luke (March 5, 2020). "Someone just uploaded open-source nuclear power plant blueprints to the web". Digital Trends. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
- 1 2 Delbert, Caroline (March 3, 2020). "Coming Soon: Open-Source Blueprints for a Tiny Nuclear Reactor". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
- ↑ Gent, Edd (March 2, 2020). "The World's First Open-Source Nuclear Reactor Blueprint Is Coming Online". Singularity Hub. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
- ↑ Takahashi, Dean (February 25, 2020). "Last Energy raises $3 million to fight climate change with nuclear energy". VentureBeat. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
- ↑ Siegel, Josh; Smith, Abby (February 25, 2020). "Daily on Energy: One man's case for boosting nuclear 100 times over". Washington Examiner. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
- ↑ Onu, Emele (July 1, 2021). "Transcorp Energy Plans Nigeria's First Nuclear Power Plants". Bloomberg. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
