Why The World Needs More Nuclear Power

In “Why The World Needs More Nuclear Power,” by Robert Rapier in Forbes, Rapier reports on the current status of the nuclear energy industry and how important it is if we are going to decarbonize the world’s energy supply.

Currently, the United States is the top producer of nuclear energy in the world, producing 850 TWh of power in 2018 which is 31.4% of the nuclear power produced worldwide. France trails at second, China at third, and then Russia and South Korea at 4th and 5th. Japan had the greatest increase in nuclear power in 2018 yet is still producing less nuclear energy than before Fukushima. Growth in nuclear energy is poised to continue due to its power and carbonless emissions.

Although renewables are rapidly growing, nuclear power will need to play a powerful role in displacing fossil fuels. Nuclear power doesn’t emit carbon like wind and solar, yet it produces energy at an incomparably higher rate. Furthermore, to decrease world wide emissions countries need to integrate nuclear energy as a substantial part of their energy portfolio.

Part of the issue is the false and destructive public image that nuclear energy holds. As long as the plants are fail-safe (not fail-proof), there will be systems in place to prevent large-scale accidents. There is no way to prevent imperfections in plant functionality, yet we can prevent the domino effect that causes large accidents. Although many might fear the implications of increasing our use of nuclear energy, the reality is that providing carbon-free energy to the world without nuclear power is impossible.

Click this link to read Robert’s article in Forbes: “Why The World Needs More Nuclear Power,” by Robert Rapier.