Gary Was opines that nuclear power is likely the least well-understood energy source in the U.S. Currently, 99 nuclear power plants operate in 30 states provide 20% of the U.S. electricity. These plants have provided reliable, affordable, safe, and clean energy for decades. Although no one has ever died in the U.S. over the last 50 years, nuclear power carries risk - to the public, to the environment and to the financial solvency of utilities....but nothing more than gas power plants, coal pants, or fuel oil plants, notwithstanding radiation issues....ala Fukahshima.
Risk is the product of the probability of an occurrence and its consequence. The probability of dying in a car accident is actually quite high compared to other daily events, but such accidents usually claim few individuals at a time, and so the risk is low. The reason nuclear energy attracts so much attention is that while the probability of a catastrophic event is extremely low, the consequence is often perceived to be extremely high, but is it? Fukahshima tells us the consequences are not that high after all.
In the US, commercial nuclear plants have been operating since the late 1960s. If you add up the plants years in operation, they average about 30 years each, totaling about 3,000 reactor years of safe operating experience. There have been no fatalities to any member of the public due to the operation of a commercial nuclear power plant in the U.S. The risk in human terms is nothing but low.
U.S. nuclear power safety record is laudable, considering that nuclear plants are running full-tilt. The average capacity factor of these plants exceeds 90% ... that means 99 plants are generating full power over 90% of the time.
If you compare that to any other energy form, there is a huge gap. Coal is a mainstay of electricity generation in the U.S.and needs to go. It has a capacity factor of around 65%. Natural gas is about the same ... wind capacity factor is around is 30%, and solar is at 25%.
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Managed & Built by I2M Consulting, LLC | © 2010-
Managed & Built by I2M Consulting, LLC | © 2010-