WORLD ELECTRICITY GENERATION

What are the sources of electricity available in the world today?
How cost competitive is nuclear electricity?
How does nuclear power compare regarding impact on the environment?

What are the sources of electricity available in the world today?

Nuclear power is one of the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly sources of energy available. It is not, however, the only source. In addition to nuclear power, electricity is generated by natural gas, oil, coal, hydro and renewables such as wind and solar power.

How cost competitive is nuclear electricity?

A nuclear plant's construction costs are substantial relative to other types of power plants. However, once a reactor is built, it is cost-effective to keep it well maintained and running safely at high capacity. As a result, utilities operate nuclear reactors as base load power. In contrast, it is normally prudent for utilities to respond to short-term changes in the demand for power by increasing or cutting back generation at their fossil fuel power plants.

Nuclear electricity production costs were cheaper than coal, oil and natural gas in 2005.

In 2007, the direct costs of US nuclear electricity production was the lowest for baseload (non-hydro) electricity production for the seventh consecutive year. US production costs were 1.76 cents per kWh for nuclear, 2.47 cents for coal, 6.78 cents for natural gas and 10.26 cents for petroleum. For more information go to the Nuclear Energy Institute at www.nei.org.

A more comprehensive cost analysis conducted by the European Commission (EC) in 2000 took into account both internal and external costs. Internal costs include operating costs such as labour, fuel and supplies, plus capital expenditures, for all elements of the nuclear cycle, from exploration to decommissioning and waste disposal. External costs are the costs reflecting damage to the environment and the negative impact on communities: how much the activity contributes to global warming through greenhouse gases, and how large a "footprint" it leaves on human health.

The EC study concluded that the cost of electricity generation plus environmental factors for nuclear is substantially below that of fossil fuels, and it does not produce any greenhouse gas emissions.

How does nuclear power compare regarding impact on the environment?

Because nuclear power plants don't burn fossil fuels, or any fuels for that matter, they do not contribute to air pollution. In fact, the air, water and soil around nuclear power plants is often so clean, they become havens for wildlife.

The major greenhouse gases from human activity are 55% carbon dioxide, 20% methane, 17% chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and 5% nitrous oxide.

Annual carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels are about 23 billion tonnes worldwide - 45% from coal and 40% from oil. Nuclear produces none of these gases.

Coal combustion can also release radioactive heavy metals. These contain sulphur dioxide and toxic heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury, which remain toxic forever.

Natural gas releases radioactive radon in negligible amounts relative to natural background levels, but often greater than those expected from nuclear power generation.

Nuclear power stations, on the other hand, contain nearly all their waste in the spent fuel, and none is released into the environment. So if nuclear-generated electricity was replaced with coal-generated electricity worldwide, an additional 2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide would be released into the atmosphere annually.